Light And Shadows
by Angelglitched
Summary: Picking up after FFA. The events have blown past him already, and yes, he is safe. But when a particular video is put up on the internet, his reputation, identity and the lives of the people he cares for is at stake. Will Conan make it to the end alive?
1. Chapter 1: The World Is Your Eyewitness

Kuroba Kaito was almost at his wits' end.

He was thinking about how long he would have to wait until his face would disappear from the media. Apparently it was not going to be soon.

And Aoko. She must be worried sick about him, going off to start her own search like that. With food for him too. He wondered how she felt that her efforts had all been wasted, even though he was so close in proximity. Maybe Haibara was right. He should have gone to see her.

But what about all those police officers? Would he risk his safety to go see her? After all, Hakuba is not called a detective for nothing.

His mind was crammed full of thoughts about what he was to do during his stay at Kudo's house, packed till it was almost ready to explode.

The 'exploding' factor just then came in and threw himself onto his lap, squealing. Kaito's head burst like an overfilled water balloon, the views and feelings he had dug up were washed out of his mind, metaphorically pouring out from his ears.

The mischievous boy grinned up at him in delight.

"Did I startle you?"

"Did you startle me? Well, of course you did! I was just sitting here and minding my own business and all of a sudden you pounce onto me like some wild cat! Of course I'm startled! What's your problem?!" Kaito's voice had escalated to a high note, and he continued rattling off whatever point that popped into his head.

All Conan could do was to just sit there and blink. Once Kaito's mouth had stopped opening and closing, he pulled out the cotton buds he had stuffed inside his ears.

"What did you say? I didn't catch it."

Kaito fainted.

…

Hakuba Saguru picked up the black box-like object he had placed on his desk a few days ago. The red circle was still blinking onscreen. The background, though, showed a worm's eye view of a segment of pavement, the same picture as it had been showing just before the morning Serin had applied for a school transfer.

Strange thing was that neither he nor the rest of the class had seen her that morning.

He pressed a couple of buttons in a certain sequence, and a side window popped up. The neon green rings radiated from the centre dot, and a green line running laps around the 'track'. A conspicuous yellow dot flickered on and off near the top of the window.

Hakuba threw on his coat and dashed towards the dot.

A good half hour later, the yellow dot was very near his given position. He zoomed in on the screen, and pinpointed the video camera's exact location. He strolled casually over past the fountain, bent down and picked up the colorful earring. Then, he scanned his surroundings, and took note of where he was.

When he got home, he turned off the device, and slipped the minidisc out of the slit in the side. Loading it into his computer, he pressed the triangular button on the media player's interface.

The video picked up from where Kudo had walked off. The camera was still until his shadow had disappeared, then it turned, and went off in the other direction, towards a certain hostel. It went up the stairs, and into a dormitory room littered with clothes and papers and…the occasional packet with red liquid collecting at the sides.

The cameraman then proceeded towards the bathroom. Knowing what was next, Hakuba scrolled past the segment, and sighed in relief. Passing the day without a nosebleed at porn was good enough.

The cameraman had now slipped into a coat and was strolling towards…surprise, surprise. Kudo's house.

It stood there for a moment, and Hakuba saw a short shadowy figure lurking behind the tree in front. The cameraman hesitated before speaking in her clear-cut voice.

"Kudo?"

"Yes, Serin," came the reply. The voice was tinged with a hint of mechanical noise, but he attributed that to the audio recording static.

"What are you doing behind the tree?"

"Because I was waiting for you, obviously."

Hakuba desperately wished that he had not just stumbled across a lovey-dovey video packed with kissing and honey-filled words.

"Okay. So what do you want to talk to me for?"

"Regarding this afternoon, I'm sorry if I was too harsh on you."

"Oh."

The silent gap in the conversation was a little too long.

"Anything else?"

"No."

"Then it would be my turn, alright? Now, why don't you come out from your little hiding place and show yourself, little Edogawa Conan?"

"W-What are you talking about, Serin? I'm Kudo."

Now Hakuba was puzzled. Although he had heard Kudo's voice there, Serin had called him by the little kid's name. Maybe it had something to do with that awfully short shadow behind the tree…

There was a laugh. "Come now, child. Stop playing hide-and-seek now and come here to Serin-neechan." Serin strode over to the tree in a couple of steps. Hakuba could see that the figure was turning its head this way and that, clearly looking for an escape route.

"Okay then, you got me." Edogawa Conan stepped out from behind the tree. Her assumption was right!

"Shinichi-niichan told me to come instead since he couldn't make it, because he had to go off on another urgent case. He told me that you would look for him near here."

"Okay then. Man, I was so looking forward to meeting Kudo-kun here. Ah well."

And why?

"I wanted to give Kudo-kun a present."

"Eh?"

"I guess I'll go home now, seeing that he's not here." With that, she left.

But then, she stopped halfway, and started playing with a compass-embossed card. It spun around deftly in her hand, after she had given it a whispery command and it pointed backwards. Serin dashed back.

"Conan." She skidded to a halt in front of the street Conan was on again.

"What is it?"

"Come here. I think I'll just give you Kudo-kun's present to pass to him."

The kid walked over, maybe a tad cautiously, a drop of sweat glinting off his forehead. Serin bowed down to him, and stroked him.

"Uh…Serin-neechan, what's going on?"

The earrings dangled beside Conan's head, capturing nothing except the scene behind them. Hakuba slapped his forehead in disappointment.

"Kudo-kun. You're a pretty good liar."

What happened next stunned him to the very core. Sure, it took a few hours when he looked at the clock, but it really felt like just a few minutes.

Serin's repeated attacks. Conan transforming into Kudo. Serin holding Ran hostage. Kudo splashing water on her violently for it. Serin lashing out at him again. Kudo making use of a nifty watch to knock his friend out to prevent eyewitnesses.

The earring dropped off when Serin was thrown to the ground by some unseen force, so the video camera was rendered useless, but the audio recording still could pick up voices, despite being soaked. He heard a conversation between Kudo and Serin, and a brief jab by Akako. Then, he saw Kudo taking to the skies once more, and video was over.

Hakuba clipped out the important parts of the video, and saved the clip to his hard disk.

He picked up his laptop, and headed for the police HQ.

…

Ran was sitting all alone in her room. Just a few nights before, Shinichi had flown in. Just like that time they were flying through the night skies while escaping from a burning building.

Was it really just fantasy? As in, Shinichi's ability to fly right into her dreams where she needed him a lot.

She just wished that he would come back, so she could prod him for answers to the riddle.

A faint sigh escaped her mouth, and her head slumped down onto the windowsill.

"Come back, Shinichi……"

There came a knock on her door, and she perked up, hoping it to be her childhood friend.

Conan stepped in cautiously, a look of intense worry and fright painted onto his face. Ran exhaled the breath she was holding, and flopped onto her bed.

"What do you want?"

"Ran-neechan….I…."

"What?" She sat up, a little amused as to the child's hesitation. Was it something embarrassing? Or was it something kept in the dark?

"………."

Ran reached over and placed the kid on her knee, maybe what his parents would do when he was feeling like this.

"Tell me," she said in what she hoped was a soothing voice.

"I……"

Silence for the next minute, but she didn't care.

A sharp ringing of the phone pierced through the emptiness. Ran slipped out from under Conan, and picked up the call.

"Hello, this is the Mouri Agency."

"Ran, is that you?"

"Hakuba?"

"Yeah. Say, could you come down to the police headquarters? It's urgent. Oh, and bring Conan along too. We need him for something."

A frown creased across her pretty forehead. "If it's regarding a case, why don't you get my dad instead? Conan-kun has to do his schoolwork, you know."

"No, bring that kid. Seriously. And yes, it's regarding a case. But you can bring your dad if you want to, seeing that he has a part to play in all this."

"Okay." She replaced the phone on the stand, and turned to Conan.

"Go put on your coat."

…

The virus streamed down the links in cyberspace, infiltrating the file that held a certain videodisc in it. It looked up at the media file, and decided to send a copy of it to its master's main computer.

The hacker picked up the file a few seconds later, and opened it.

A few seconds of skimming later, he posted it up on the internet.

...

Logon Time: 2018 hr

People in this room: Miku123, Sora-DV, Doodle, MaiMai, Heiji=)

Heiji=): Wass'up?

Miku123: Oh hey! Look what I've found on the internet!

Doodle: What's it about?

Miku123: You'll see. (^V^) You guys will totally dig this.

Sora-DV: Put it up, Miku-chan!

MaiMai: Yeah!

Miku123: Okay! Here's the link: ./nEkObaKa/video180=?

Sora-DV: Whoa.

MaiMai: You sure said it. Hey, is this animated? Or is it real?

Doodle: It's epically real!!! Because there's no way that any animator except those at Pixar could have done this!!!

Miku123: Plus, nEkObaKa only puts up real live vids!

Heiji=): I'm watching it….Oh god.

Miku123: What's wrong, Heiji?

Heiji=): Oh god. Oh god oh god oh GOD!!!!

Sora-DV: Hey, what's up with Heiji?

Doodle: Dunno. Maybe a freak attack?

MaiMai: Heiji, is something wrong?

Heiji=): I'VE GOT TO TELL HIM ABOUT THIS!!!

Logout Time: 2029 hr

Thank you for using

…

"Hey, Minoru, check this out."

"Whoa. Are you gonna put this up for tonight's news?"

"You bet!"


	2. Chapter 2: Breaking News!

First off, I just wanna say thanks to those who have read the first chapter and given me reviews, even after FFA, which I admit was half-done. It's okay, I appreciate criticism, and flaming if there is. Now, back to the storybook!

…

"Name?"

"Edogawa Conan."

"As in Edogawa Rampo and Arthur Conan Doyle?"

His fingers tugged gently at his collar, which was beginning to feel a tad too tight. "Y-Yeah."

Hakuba Saguru bent down at the kid, peering at him through half-mooned eyes. "Oh really?"

"Mmmph-hmm. But you know that already. Why do you wanna ask me again?"

"Well…it's a little complicated. But before we explain everything to you, you need to come into this room for a moment." He directed Conan to a dark room, lit only by a single swinging lamp, a solitary chair in its halo of light.

Conan held back for a moment, but Hakuba pushed him in anyway, and shut the door behind him.

…

"I've got to tell Kudo, I've got to tell Kudo, I've got to tell Kudo…"

Hattori Heiji punched in Shinichi's phone number into his cell, and paced around impatiently for him to pick up.

The phone rang for a couple of seconds, and then someone on the other side picked it up.

"Hello? May I speak to Kudo Shinichi please?"

"Kudo?"

Heiji gulped. The person who had answered his call was definitely feminine. He hoped against fate that it was not Conan's guardian.

"What are you talking about, Heiji? This is Conan's phone. If it's Conan you want to find, I'm afraid he's busy with the police on some sort of investigation."

"Uh oh. That can't be good," Heiji thought.

"Oh. Then maybe I've gotten mixed up. Thanks anyway, Ran!" He slammed the phone shut and flung it onto his pillow, where it landed with a soft thump.

"Well now, Kudo-chan is gonna have one hell of a time waiting for him now."

…

Mouri Kogoro was lounging on the sofa, slurping up cans of beer. Ran and the little brat had gone out, leaving him all alone…with the fridge!

He lazily flicked on the news channel, and the breaking headline snapped him to attention at once.

No, it was not the pretty reporter.

"There has been footage of an extraordinary event circulated online," said Kurai Mai, reading off from her script. Behind her, a cut scene from the original video played.

"This video, unbelievable but truly not an animation, was taken off the popular MyVideo website, and a lot of its members have uploaded the video to other media websites like MikaCam and World-View. The footage depicts a fantasy-style battle, complete with its own helping of special effects, between two figures, one of which bearing a great resemblance to the High School Detective of the East, Kudo Shinichi. He has gone missing more than a few months ago, and this has triggered police investigations. The early parts of the video show a character that looks like a kid transform into Kudo in a blast of red light. Anyone with further information on this are requested to relay their information to the police."

Kogoro stared at the figures prancing around on the screen.

"Now, where have I seen that kid before….?" His eyes turned to a photo of Ran and Conan that she had set on the wall.

His eyes widened in shocking realization.

…

"Vermouth, just what are you doing?"

"Oh! Gin…Er…"

"You know you were supposed to be researching on our newest client."

"Well…it's just that….Oh! Have you seen the news recently? They say this video is the hottest thing on the net right now."

"And would you mind telling me why you are looking at it at a time like this?"

Vermouth paused the video, looked up at him, and said, "Well, it might just have something to do with that detective you and vodka dealt with half a year ago."

Gin froze, then bent down at shifted the screen towards himself.

"And why?"

"Well…I'll go for dinner now, so you can view it all you want then. Oh, and just a word of warning," she winked at him, just before leaving the room, "That video is entirely live-action. Totally no CG effects whatsoever."

"Whatever."

Vermouth skipped lightly out the door in that irritatingly soppy way she liked to adopt.

Gin sat down in front of the computer, scrolled the video player's seek right back to the beginning, and pressed the button with the large triangle on it.

And he stuck himself there for the next two hours.

…

The door slammed itself open with a bang, rattling the walls of the house. The impact was so huge, that the books Kaito were supposed to stack and dust toppled back down onto him, crashing down from the very top shelf.

A moment later, Kaito found himself under an enormous pile of dusty old books. Some wisps of dust sneaked up his nose, causing him to sneeze non-stop.

"Kudo!!!!"

Kaito quickly combed his hair down.

Kogoro stormed into the room, and hoisted him up by the front collar.

"What did you think you were doing, letting yourself get filmed like that?! You really want to get killed by those men in black, do you?!" Kogoro cried, throttling him like a ragdoll.

Kaito's head lolled around on his neck, his eyes bounced around in his skull. He reeled around the room for a few moments, a little dazed, then refocused back onto the Osakan.

"W-W-Where? What? Who? When? Why?"

Kogoro threw him down onto the sofa.

"You don't know anything about this, do you? Well," he flicked on the news channel, which was conveniently showing the video. Kaito goggled at it, his bright blue eyes nearly popping out onto the floor.

"You didn't know anything about this, did you?"

"I…I…I…Whoa. I didn't Tantei-kun could do that."

Kogoro turned to Kaito, a puzzled look etched on his face. Kaito gulped.

"You're not really that brat, are you?"

"I…er…"

"Where's Kudo?" Kogoro questioned, his voice taking on a more sinister, dark tone. Kaito backed into the shelf, sending another book falling down onto his head.

"K-Kudo's…er…."

"Tantei-kun. Only Kaitou Kid calls him that."

"How'd you know?"

"None of your business!!"

"So… I suppose Tantei-kun doesn't know about this himself?"

Kogoro flopped onto the sofa. "I don't know. But we could all very well be in big trouble if he doesn't. But what are you doing, impersonating Kudo like that?"

Kaito had no choice but to explain everything that happened, starting from Serin's appearance. When he was finished, Kogoro leant back with a satisfied expression.

"So that's what he has been up to all this time."

Kaito said nothing.

"So, where's Kudo now?"

"Erm…"

…

Conan was worried. No, 'worried' was an understatement. He was horribly anxious.

The room looked a lot like the scary interrogation rooms they liked to show in the movies, and he was probably supposed to get interrogated.

He cautiously climbed onto the chair, which was a little too high for his smallish structure, and waited for the worst to come.

"Edogawa Conan."

It was Hakuba's voice, he was sure of it. Pretty obvious. He must have come in through a secret door somewhere, and would most likely be the one questioning him.

"There has been live footage recorded of your 'friend', Kudo Shinichi."

"Ummm, okay."

A screen flicked itself on in front of him, and it started, almost immediately, playing the video. Conan recognized the scenes at once, since he was one of those who were actually playing it out. He remembered it all so clearly. Next, a pale white hand placed a colored earring Conan recognized as Serin's new one on the table in front of him. He did not understand anything going on. Why was Hakuba showing this to him?

The answer revealed itself to him in the climax. He was caught on tape transforming.

Conan's breath started coming out in short, hasty puffs, and his heartbeat was increasing rapidly.

"So this was what they were all talking about at school this morning…"

"Apparently, if you read the news now, the video has been leaked to the whole world."

Conan's heart skipped a beat.

"And…? W-What's your point?"

He could sense Hakuba smirking at him from the shadows. "What I want to ask, is if this video is true, because I myself was the one who recorded it from Serin's earring."


	3. Chapter 3: Almost Midnight

Yes, I have decided to drop Conan into my 'torture chamber'. And...Well...Yeah. A lot of OCCs are back! Although you won't find much of them until the middle of the story.

* * *

Conan's heart was about to stop completely. The video leaked onto the internet? What if someone from the Black Organization got hold of it? What if it was relayed to Gin or Vodka? What if they sent assassins and suchlike after him? What if even living made him a danger to the people he cared about? What if…?!

"Um…Shinichi-niichan is my best friend, and I am definitely not Shinichi-niichan, and he's so tall, and I'm way shorter than him, too!" he gushed, trying to shift the detective away from the theory by stating obvious facts. "Besides, there are a lot of people who would say that Shinichi-niichan and I are two different people too!"

"And who would say that?"

"Heiji-oniisan, Ran-neechan, Professor Agasa, Haibara-kun, Ayumi-chan, Mitsuhiko-kun, Genta-kun, Eisuke-oniisan…"

"Okay, okay. I get it. Fine. You win. This investigation is over." The lights flicked themselves on, and Conan found himself sitting in front if Hakuba, whose laptop was open. He heaved a huge sigh of relief, glad that one part of the ordeal was over.

"But, Conan-kun, I want you to meet me outside Kudo's house, at eleven-thirty tonight, outside Kudo's house. Just to make sure that you're not really Kudo. Alright with you?"

Thirty minutes. Destiny probably wouldn't make him transform then, so it should be alright. "Sure."

Hakuba smiled, pleased, and led him out the door. "I'll see you tonight, then."

…

Ran was pacing around in the corridor when Conan came out of the room.

"What happened? Did you do something wrong, Conan-kun?" she asked, concern accentuating every word.

"No. Hakuba-oniisan just wanted to ask me questions on Shinichi-niichan."

"Does he need me to testify anything as well?"

"No. he says it's fine now, but he wants to meet me tonight at eleven thirty."

"Again you're staying out late! You had better make sure you get enough sleep, you know, or you'll doze off during class!"

"Yes, Ran-neechan."

…

When they got home, an irate Kogoro was waiting for them at the door.

"What's with the red face, dad? Is the fridge all out of beer again?"

"Not only that, but I found out something on the news this afternoon that terribly concerned that-that-that-that brat over there!" he jabbed wildly at Conan, who ducked behind Ran's legs just in time to dodge a head-knocking.

"What about Conan-kun, dad? He didn't hide your Yoko CDs again, did he?"

"And why would I want to do that? He himself didn't take care of them," thought Conan bitterly.

"He-That brat is not what he seems!"

"Of course, dad! He's much cleverer and observant than any kid I've seen, that's all! What there to make a fuss about?"

"And the reason why he's so clever is because he's not actually a seven-year-old boy called Edogawa Conan!"

Ran stared at Kogoro's red face and snorted. "You must have been drinking too much again, dad. Look how red your face is! Come on, let's get back into the house," she muttered, as she dragged Kogoro in by the scruff of his shirt. Conan tagged along behind, trying to avoid the poison daggers the man was directing at him with his glares.

"Looks like someone might be a huge liability to my incognito identity…" He swallowed the thought at once, trying not to let it resurface into his mind. No, he had other far more important things to do.

…

"TWEEEEEEEEEN!!!!!"

Twin looked up lazily from his little cave, just in time for a petite butterfly imp to fly right smack into his face.

"Mmmph, get off me, Miranda! What are you doing, flapping your wings in my face and all? You know if any of those scales of yours pop up my nose I'm gonna sneeze you to the moon, don't you?" he cried in annoyance.

"Twin, something terrible has happened to Conan-kun!!!!"

"What?"

"I was peeking into a human's room just now, when I saw the television play a video about him, turning into his elder self and everything! I saw it, I saw it!!!"

"Whoa there, calm down. Maybe we can help him sort it out. What say we pop by his house later at eleven thirty, when everyone is asleep? We can tap on his window then. Anyways, tomorrow is Saturday, so there's no problem of him sleeping in school."

"Okay. But I think he'll be in big trouble if we don't hurry…"

…

Gin had thought about it, long and hard. He rapped his pen against the table top, splattering blots of ink onto the plans he had made. He yelled, frustrated, but at least he knew what he was supposed to do now.

If the Kudo guy was shrunk with the pill he had given him a few months earlier, then wouldn't Sherry, who took the pill as well, have shrunk? That was highly possible, and Sherry was the one who checked that Kudo was truly dead. She knew he was a live, yet she had filled a negative remark on the paperwork. He must have bore some connection to her, and this was probably it.

A vicious grin snaked across his angular face, and a dark shadow cut across his icy eyes.

"Kudo and Sherry. Such a nice pair to die."

…

It was nearly eleven twenty. He sighed, and leaned onto the wall.

Tantei-kun was not here yet.

Suddenly, he caught sight of a small figure bounding towards him from up the road.

"Tantei-kun, I'm here!" he cried to the figure, and turned to see another short shadowy person dashing towards him at full speed. He stopped, confused, and instinctively took two steps back.

The two incoming people crashed into each other at full speed. Kaito whistled his appreciation, much to the annoyance of the trio.

"Conan-kun! They put up a video of you and—" Miranda's alarm skidded to an abrupt stop as she fixed her eyes on 'Shinichi'. "There's…two of you? But how? I thought you were only one person, Conan-kun!" she turned back to the kid who was wrestling with the bundle of white fur on the ground.

"Stop it, Twin, stop licking me!" cried he, but the Halfling took no notice and continued slobbering his face with saliva.

Finally Miranda yanked Twin off and allowed Conan to go off and wash his face.

Kaito watched this reunion with hardly any understanding, until Conan explained to him how they first met.

"Oh, you mean the puppy and the flying kid me and Akako saw at the Takashi Enterprises Headquarters?"

Miranda and Twin scoffed at him, due to his slightly offending remark.

"Well…Yeah. And why are you guys here now?"

"Conan-kun, they put up a video of you transforming and fighting a vampire on the internet and the television!"

"WHAT?!"

"It's true! I saw someone watching it on their computer this morning, and another person watching it on the news this afternoon!"

Oh god. Oh darn god.

Suddenly, a third shadowy figure shuffled up the road, cuing Miranda and Twin to scurry off and hide.

…

Hakuba reached the meeting point at exactly eleven-thirty on the dot, as usual.

"Conan-kun?"

"Here!" Conan skipped out from the dark shadows around the area, with a 'Shinichi' following at his heels. Hakuba's jaw dropped, leaving his mouth open in a nicely formed O.

"B-But But that's not possible, is it?"

"I already told you, Hakuba-oniisan! Me and Shinichi-niichan are two different people!"

"Yeah. Why would I be naughty old Tantei-kun here anyway?"

"I guess you're right. Ah well, so that's it then. This case is –"

Everyone froze, and their gazes slowly turned towards 'Shinichi's.

"Tantei-kun?"

Kaito, knowing he was found out, picked up Conan and made a dash for it, running down the road. Hakuba wasted no time in grabbing a nearby bike, and cycling hard after them. There weren't any cars he could use, but then again, not many people could outrun a bicycle with a dynamo attached to it for a long time.

"Kuroba, he's gaining on us!!!"

Kaito glanced back and saw that Conan's exclamation was indeed true. Hakuba was closing the gap between them at high speed.

A light bulb snapped on in Conan's mind.

"Say, Kuroba, would you mind running for another twenty-five minutes? And make sure you keep taking lots of turns while you're at it?"

"What?!"

"Quickly now, Hakuba's catching up!"

Kaito swerved and dashed straight into a winding alley meandering away from the main road. Hakuba followed, but the gap between them had to widen a little. Conan squealed in his high-pitched voice triumphantly, and egged Kaito on. He zipped again into another nook, and this time Hakuba was forced to get off the bike and run after them. but once they were out of the alley, he grabbed onto a skateboard nearby and rolled after them, down the sloping road.

"Hakuba's coming!"

"I know that, dimwit!!! Can't you see I'm already running as fast as I can?!"

Kaito jumped over a roadblock, and winded his way around the deep pits the construction workers had dug up for telephone lines. Hakuba jumped off the skateboard, and followed Kaito's footsteps.

"Just ten minutes more!!"

"That was fifteen minutes only?!"

They ran on some more, until Kaito's leg muscles were swearing at him in silent, but equally colorful language. He slowed down, and finally stopped, and put Conan down on the ground.

"I…can't…run…any…more…"

"But we need to escape!! Look, Hakuba is really near us now, he could catch up at any moment –"

"There you are!" Hakuba's shout echoed from the top of the street.

"Come on!"

"No. Unless you find a way to carry me, I'm afraid you'll have to leave me behind."

Conan swore, then saw a roadblock nearby.

The road after the banisters ended in midair, for they had not finished rebuilding the damaged highway yet. Another light bulb flicked on in Conan's quick-witted mind.

…

Hakuba had finally caught up to them. Here, there was nowhere else to go except down…to be reduced into rubble, if that was their wish. They were huddling at the end of the road, looking down at the broken surface below them.

"End of the line, boys! Now come here, and be good kids so I don't have to arrest you."

He thought that would scare them enough, until he saw the grin the kid had on his face.

It was a simple grin, but it was shocking that it could harbor so much cunningness within it.

"Think again, Hakuba!"

The kid wrapped Kaitou Kid's arms around his shoulders, and let his feet dangle off the edge of the cliff.

"Wait, you're not gonna actually jump, are you?"

The response he got was very frightening.

"Why yes, I am. And I'm taking him with me as well!"

He did a nearly perfect back flip in midair, and plunged down to the depths below!

* * *

I typed this entirely on the MRT while on the way home. Maybe it would explaim the minor lousy grammar sometimes, because I was a little woozy after lessons today... =)

Oh, and...Erm...next up is not a dying scene. I promise.


	4. Chapter 4: Forensics and a Feather

Thursday is taking the timetable of Friday because Friday is Good Friday, so we don't go to school. So now I am going to do what I do almost every Friday for the story: Chapter Typing Marathon!!!

* * *

Hakuba dashed after them, and was about to peer down when an explosion of red light struck the sight out of his eyes. Rays of crimson light radiated in all directions, giving the surroundings a faint vermillion glow. It died down suddenly, and then everything was still.

Then, a big dark shadow passed in front of him and up into the sky.

He craned his neck upwards, and saw a silhouette of a person, a teenager, maybe, with a pair of huge wings sprouting out from his shoulder blades, against the pure white moonlight. A faint patch of red pulsed where the heart of the supposed human was supposed to be.

A faint streak of white glinted into his eyes. If he didn't know better, he would have thought it was a smug grin.

The angel hovered there for a moment, and took off, up, up and away.

Hakuba watched it soar above his head and towards the horizon, escaping from his clutches. He sighed in disappointment, and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

A long, glinting thing floated down onto his head and tickled his hair. He snatched it off, and examined it.

It was a long, feather that gleamed silver under the moonlight, with soft fluffy down lining the bottom and metallic streaks running down the quills. He turned it around and around in his hand, and found it to be as light as air.

He smiled. Just what he needed as evidence. Now, all he has to do is to get this to the forensics….

…

The next morning, Hakuba strode into the lobby of the police headquarters, the feather clutched decisively in his hand.

He made a direct beeline towards the forensics department.

"Hakuba!"

He whirled around apprehensively, and found himself staring face to face with a certain dark-skinned Osakan detective.

"Hakuba, where on earth are you going with that feather? This is not the bird park, you know."

"I am going straight to Forensics, so don't bother me now." He stalked off.

"Whoa whoa! Slow down there, hothead! You wanna go to the forensics with a feather? For what, catching a bird?" Heiji scrambled after him, and his eyes caught sight of the silvery feather, wondering why his friend was holding it.

"In case you really want to know, I am about to prove the existence of angels, or at least, an angel."

Heiji skidded to a halt, and waved his hands in front of Hakuba frantically.

"Wha-what do you mean, angels? Come on, everyone knows that stuff like that only exists in fairytales!" he cried, his voice tinged with panic.

"Oh?" Hakuba leaned backwards on his heels, and focused his piercing glare into Heiji's eyes. "Should I tell you that I picked up this feather yesterday from the wing of Kudo Shinichi?"

"You must be crazy! I've known Kudo as my friend, and I know that he definitely is one hundred percent human! Which wacko part of your big brain told you that Kudo's half-bird?"

"Then would you mind explaining why you are so worked up about this matter?"

"Well…" Heiji fumbled around in his mind for an excuse. "You're saying stuff about my friend, yah, and that I don't like!"

"Whatever."

Just then, Hakuba caught sight of a tall slim person walking down the corridor. He waved energetically to him, and he came over.

"What is it, Hakuba?" he asked, his impassive voice sharp and cold.

"Minoru-san, I need you to determine the DNA sample of this feather. Hopefully we can find some leads to that video case." He placed the gleaming silvery feather into Minoru's hands, and ushered him off towards the nearest laboratory. Heiji followed, drops of anxious sweat rolling off the corners of his forehead.

The three soon came into the grey-padded lab, where a huge machine linked up to several monitors sat humming in the middle of the room. Minoru placed the feather under a scanner's lid.

"Say, you guys, anyone wants some coffee?"

Both Hakuba and Heiji gladly agreed. Minoru went off to the pantry to get them some, leaving the both of them in the room.

"I wonder if the results would come out just like I expected." Hakuba thought aloud.

"Maybe." Heiji was shifting his weight uneasily on the balls of his feet, his right hand held behind his back as he leaned on the machine.

"What if it really belongs to Kudo?"

"Erm…I wouldn't know what to say." Heiji's hand seeped under the scanner, feeling desperately about for the feather.

Hakuba stared at him for a moment, one eyebrow cocked up. "You're being awfully quiet from just now."

"Oh, am I? So you want me to yap more?"

"Not that I want that, but it feels so…unlike you. As if you were trying to hide something from me."

"That was so close! If he finds out that Kudo has the…" Heiji banished that thought and continued groping around the glass pane for the feather. His fingers soon brushed against something light and downy, and he wrapped his fingers around it, shoving it into his sleeve, and then pulling his hand out from under the scanner.

"Hey! Your coffee, guys!" Minoru called from the door, his arms full with three mugs of hot drink. Hakuba and Heiji took one each, while Minoru went over to the scanner and programmed it. Minutes later, the result popped up on the screens. Hakuba went over to see it eagerly, but Heiji hung back.

"Minoru-san, what is the meaning of this?" Hakuba intoned, pointing at the message that read 'Skin DNA sensed. Identity: Hattori Heiji. No other DNA samples were found." Minoru shook his head in bewilderment, then the both of them turned to glare at Heiji.

"What?" Heiji asked, his hands put up in defense.

"Did you take out the feather, Hattori?"

"Umm…No. Why would I wanna do that?"

Hakuba rounded on the detective, and advanced towards him.

"Okay. So the feather disappeared on its own. Maybe it flew out or something. Let's all search the floor now, and find that feather."

Minoru bent down and searched the floor, while Hakuba poked around under the machine. Heiji tried to slip out the door without them noticing when…

Hakuba caught sight of a metallic sheen from the inside of Heiji's sleeve.

He lunged over and grabbed Heiji's hand and whipped out the feather from the cuff. Then, he glared hotly at the detective. Heiji shrunk back, embarrassed that he had been caught red-handed.

"Hattori, what are you doing with the feather in your cuff?"

"I…er…"

"You had better come with me," said Hakuba quietly, dragging Heiji off to the questioning room. "I think there is something you should tell me."

* * *

Hakuba can be just scary sometimes, but I wonder if anyone else feels that way too. Reviews pleez!


	5. Chapter 5: Scarlet Wings

Here I am, back from the graveyard… =) I didn't bring my computer, so I couldn't type…Eh =|

Oh, and yes, I know trying to kid a detective is almost impossible. Ah well.

…

"Serin! Where's the powder I asked you to leave on the table?"

"Coming!!" She scurried over, clad in a French maid outfit, up to her arms in a variety of bottles and boxes. Akako was waiting for her impatiently in her room, her wand up and at the ready.

"What took you so long? A minute later, and my spell would be ruined!" she huffed, and snatched up the box of bright blue powder to add into the bubbling potion she was cooking up in her cauldron. The new maid quickly set the things back onto the shelves, and awaited her master's next order.

"You know, Serin, if you don't want to be sent back to your own world, you had better keep up to speed," muttered Akako coldly, while she continued stirring the contents of the pot.

Serin tossed her platinum blonde hair backwards and kept silent.

"Now, I am busy, so it shall be your free time till I call for you again." She sent Serin out of the room, back into the main hall.

Serin scampered out the door, and shuffled over to the coffee table, where the newspaper from that morning lay. She picked it up, and settled down on the couch to read it.

Akako had been kind to let her stay on, and not seal her away in some sort of extra-dimension. Thank god she had turned up that night, for she didn't want to know what would happen after rattling that angel's cage. Sure, he looked like those introverted types on the outside, but he could be pretty powerful if he wanted to. She was relieved then to have Akako 'save' her from his wrath. Yet…she still felt some sort of hatred towards him…maybe it was revenge, but in a small way. Maybe just a little prank she could play on him…that would plunge him into deep trouble…

The newspaper's headlines then caught her attention. She smiled, and went out.

…

Moments later, she arrived just outside the Kudo manor.

It was easy to get there from Akako's, after all, when you are viewing your path from up above. She kept away her dark leathery wings, and stowed them under her crimson cloak, before hurrying up the walkway.

It was dark, and her eyesight had not been adjusted to the night for some time, given that she spent most of her time in the mansion, with the lights turned on, just in case Akako would call for her. She went happy-tripping over a lot of pebbles and a couple of tangled weeds, causing her to fall, many, times, into a crumpled heap. She picked herself up, brushed the dirt off her cloak, and tarried up to the door.

She paused, her eyes widening in surprise, as she registered a powder white ball of fluff and a something shimmering with ice blue scales at the door.

The white fluff thing must have heard her, for it turned what seemed to be its head in her direction and emitted a low growl. Its friend turned around in response as well, and backed into the door. Serin sidled up the gravel path cautiously, and the white thing snarled again.

"Go away." Its tone was threatening, as if it knew what she was here for. She took no notice of it, and continued. Its friend was whispering frantically into its ear, but she could not make out its squeaky words. The white thing snapped at her, even more hostilely than the last.

"Go away, vampire." So it could sense that she was a vampire. Well then, better now than late, or never.

The white thing jumped her, scrabbling its paws into the gravel, while she swirled away, dodging its attack cleanly. Now that it was out of the shadow, she could see its face.

It was what the books in Akako's library catalogued as a Halfling, and a rather quick-tempered one at that. It bared its fangs at her, a rumbling growl escaping from its throat.

Serin turned and fled, knowing that since Akako had confiscated her spell cards, she would be no matched for it. Twin watched her go, then bounded back to Miranda's side.

"That was close. If that vamp got too close to Conan, I wonder what would happen." Miranda stroked Twin's ruffled fur as she said so.

…

Serin cursed as she glided back to Akako's house. Bumping into a Halfling was the last thing she had wanted. Swooping in softly through the window of her little room, she caught sight of the makeshift computer Akako had set up for her, which was connected to the internet.

An icon was blinking on it, in the shape of an unopened envelope.

…

"No way."

"Please??"

"No."

"Aww. Jeez, Kuroba, you're such a wet blanket."

Kaito got up from the rung of the ladder he was sitting on, and dangled the book he was holding above Conan's head. The child stretched his arms upwards to reach it, but his short frame denied his wishes.

Kaito grinned, watching his little nemesis pouting and whining at him to give him the book. He went on to mock the kid, calling him names, until Conan finally kicked the foot of the ladder with his shoes turned to the maximum power. The teen lost his balance as the ladder tipped over, and he tried jumping off to land on the sofa. Unexpectedly, his shoelaces had wrapped themselves around the rung tightly, and he crashed, book and all, onto the cold hard ground. Conan laughed, and picked the Holmes book out of Kaito's twisted hand.

Just then, Ai's computer, which was in the laboratory, gave an awfully loud buzz.

Conan and Kaito looked at each other. Ai was not home then…was it okay to touch the computer?

Kaito sneaked down to the lab, and looked at the screen.

"One new message" it flashed, the window showing a snapshot of Ai's email account.

"I haven't been reading my mail lately…I guess I had better do it now, while Ai's out." Kaito's fingers flew lightning-fast across the keyboard, and not a few seconds had passed when Kaito's own email account had popped up onto the screen. '203 new unread emails' flashed on the screen. He scrolled through the list, not very surprised at the gigantic amount of unread mail he had, mostly due to that other detective's revelation. He sighed, and started going through the mails one by one.

"Woooh, what a lot of fanmail!"

Conan's sudden comment made Kaito jump. He had not seen, or heard for that matter, the sneaky little brat creeping up behind him. Irritated, he shoved the pesky rascal away, and continued looking through the sea of letters.

"I wanna look at my mail too!" whined the kid.

He sighed, opened another browser and stepped aside for the pushy child.

Conan opened up his two inboxes, one for his older self and another for his younger self. Again, he had to swim through an ocean of '309 new unread emails', and the video viewers made up the general bulk of them, for both Edogawa Conan and Kudo Shinichi. He had not gone down more than three letters when suddenly, the screen froze.

"Uh oh, what's going on now, Kaito-oniisan?" Conan peeped at the teenager, who had a look of utter horror scrawled onto his face.

The screen blanked out for a few seconds, before showing a blue screen with a couple of white words on it.

"Oops."

Kaito knew that Ai would not be happy to see a BSOD on her computer, so he quickly picked up Conan by the scruff of his neck and dashed out of the lab, just as Ai came home from the shops.

She saw the two of them hurrying out of the laboratory, and dashed anxiously down to check on her data.

Meanwhile, Kaito and Conan locked themselves in Shinichi's room, and awaited their punishment.

"KUDO AND KUROBA, GET YOUR ASSES DOWN HERE!!!"

They took it as their cue to dash out the door.


	6. Chapter 6: Interrogation

BSODs suck terribly, and one decided to eat my cousin's computer when he tried to access his email account, which he hadn't done in a decade. And that's where the duo's big misadventure came about.

…

"Hello?"

Ran picked up the ringing phone, and put it to her ear.

"Is this Mouri Ran?"

"Yes."

"It's me, Sonoko! Say, could you accompany me on a shopping trip after school tomorrow? I wanna show you someplace great!"

"Fine, then. But could I meet you at four? I have other activities to do after school."

"Okay then."

She felt a little out-of-place, but she put that thought out of her mind and went on with her homework.

…

Aoko's canvas shoes dragged themselves along the dirty grey pavement, kicking away loose bits of cement as she went along. The afternoon sun was scorching behind her, and her head was drenched in perspiration.

"Aoko-chan!"

She turned, and saw Akako dashing towards her, waving madly. The tall girl slowed to a stop in front of her, panting.

"Say…uh…you wanna meet up later? I've got something I wanna give you. I didn't bring it with me now…so is four later alright?" she panted, her straight dark locks fluttering like curtains in front of a bright window.

"Sure."

…

"So."

He kept his mouth shut firmly, determined not to say anything.

"I'm asking you to tell me something."

"What do you wanna know?" he spat back bitterly.

The latter bent down and rested his head on his hands on the table, peering at him with an icy cold face.

"Your connection to that feather, and why you had decided to take it from the scanning machine, and those you know the answer to very well."

"And why should I tell someone like you?"

"Fine. If you're not going to say anything, you'll be held here as an accomplice to be questioned later when we catch him."

He looked away in silence.

The detective got back up, and paced around the room once more. Then, he picked up the note that he had placed on the table earlier. It was for him, he knew, and he unfolded the note at once. It showed him a list of numbers and jargon, but he knew exactly what it meant.

"Here are the scan results," he muttered, passing the paper to Heiji.

Heiji skimmed the report, then figured out what Hakuba was trying to say.

"Alright, so that feather's DNA does belong to Kudo-kun. So what? It's not strange, is it, what with science getting so advanced nowadays," he argued, still trying to shun Hakuba's accusations.

"Did you know? DNA grafting is not possible at the moment with our level of scientific knowledge. How could Kudo have possibly gotten those wings, hmm?"

He knew he had slammed the mousetrap on the mouse.

"Er…Erm…maybe because he had decided to do a magic trick and it went wrong and he ended up having wings?" Heiji reasoned, although he knew it was a pathetic attempt to do so, now that Hakuba had poked his nose so deep into the mess.

The British detective snorted in contempt, and flashed Heiji a crooked smile.

"Do you know what the info below the ones for the feather refer to?"

Heiji shook his head in genuine curiosity. He leaned forward, so his eyes were level with the Osakan's, and uttered something that smashed through all Heiji's blankets of lies and disguises.

"Edogawa Conan does not exist."

It was so quiet then, one could hear a pin drop.

"W-W-What are you saying?! Of course Conan exists! If he wasn't, then who have I been taking as Ran's little tenant all this time?!" he yelled, denial and outrage accentuating every note of his voice. Hakuba grinned in glee at his expression.

"So it's true, then," he thought, for Heiji's frantic body language completely gave the game away.

"Whaddya' mean Conan isn't Conan?! I mean, That can't be right, cuz' then Conan wouldn't be talking to me then…and then Ran would be taking care of something… I dunno…maybe a ghost?! Are you crazy, Hakuba?!"

"Minoru ran a scan on the feather DNA and a single strand of hair that I had picked up when I questioned the child, or should I say, the teenager. The samples matched perfectly, and since I was the one who personally witnessed Kudo 'taking flight', and the fact that there is no such person as Edogawa Conan on the birth list on the year he was supposedly to have been born, I can conclude, with these striking evidences, that Edogawa Conan and Kudo Shinichi are essentially one and the same."

Hakuba turned to look at Heiji, and smiled triumphantly to himself when he saw the defeated look on his face.

"Fine. I'll spill. But you are not to tell anyone else about this, clear? Telling would just plunge him into more trouble than he is in now, and I doubt if he himself could even possibly get out of this mess."

"Go on."

"Kudo told me, that he had been fed a poison from a couple of suspicious men in black, which had caused him to shrink. But if the men in black found out that he was still alive, which they might have probably done already, then his live would be in danger, not to mention the rest of us. Then.. the wings part would be from a certain Angel of Destiny, from a month ago…that incident? Maybe you still remember it. That doll snuck into Kudo's kid body and granted him wishes, and gave him wings and stuff. But then, he was attacked by a pair of fallen angels and a vamp, and he barely escaped from them. Kind of voodoo, everything is." He glanced at Hakuba's incredulous look and sighed. "Not my fault if you don't believe me. I had trouble accepting it as well."

"Alright, if your simply ridiculous story is to be taken as gospel, then I perceive Kudo to be in some sort of situation right now. And that all of our lives are at stake, together with his, am I right?"

Heiji nodded, his eyes casting downwards.

"Good. Glad that you have been of assistance." Hakuba opened the door, allowing Heiji to leave. He dashed out immediately, panicky like a mouse.

Hakuba's phone beeped. He picked it up and read the new message that appeared on it.

"Catching Kudo is not that easy. Have to take note that he can force you to do things at will, and that he cannot be near any form of water. Try making use of his friend Ran to make him follow what you want. ~Serin."

"Serin. Haven't heard from her in a while. Strange that she knows about Kudo's weaknesses and strengths, though, unless…." He let his mind drift off for a moment, then quickly snapped back to reality.

"Alright…That's most of the things I need to fully uncover this case…now all I need is a couple of human hands…"

* * *

Just in case anyone wants to know, Light and Shadows is going to be the shortest section in the A.O.D. series. Mostly because it just ties up loose ends.


	7. Chapter 7: Action Plan

Somehow I manage to type faster and better when my hands are frozen.

…

Leaning her tall, thin frame against the wall, she hummed along to the tune of a melody drifting around in the city air. The soft breeze swished her long silky curtain of hair around her, as her slender hand clutched on to her arm.

"Hey, Ran."

She turned, and saw her best friend waving to her from afar.

"Hi Sonoko! You're so late!"

She skipped over to Sonoko, who was giggling in delight. "All right, but now I'm here, so let's go shopping, alright? Hey, I know a great place to start! It's here…" Sonoko grabbed Ran's hand.

"Hey, Hey wait…Whoa!" Ran was pulled away by her feisty friend.

Sonoko sped past avenues, past the main shopping district, and past the bazaar in the main plaza. She went on for about a few seconds, then came to a stop at the entrance to a dark and foreboding alley.

"What's this? You don't usually come to these sort of places to shop, Sonoko." Ran felt a little queer, for she had expected Sonoko to drag her into some luxurious shopping mall to buy her stuff.

"But I found a great place here! It has super-low prices, and really great wares too!" Sonoko assured her, and pulled her in.

It was dark at first, and she couldn't see anything, so she could only rely on the hand that was pulling her on. Then, suddenly, the hand slipped quickly up to her neck, wound around it, and another hand, lunging at her from the darkness, smothered her face with some sort of foul smelling fabric. The pungent smell entered her lungs, slowly seeping into her bloodstream.

Her eyelids felt heavy, very heavy, and they slowly drooped, covered, shut.

…

"Akako?"

She wandered into the place where Akako promised that they would meet; she had said that she wanted to give her something. Something to find Kaito with? Maybe.

She wondered why her classmate even chose this place. It was surrounded by trees, and she could see no sign of the bustling city life she just passed a few moments ago from here. She felt a little anxious, as though she was not supposed to be here.

"Aoko! I'm here!"

That voice! She walked towards it, and found Akako crouching down, near a pond. The girl was poking playfully as a couple of lily pads, as though they were something nice to play with.

"Look, Aoko. These lily pads are frog seats. The frogs love to sit on them." akao prodded the plant once more.

"Okay. So what did you want to find me for, Akako? You said you had something to pass to me."

"Oh right. But unfortunately…" Akako looked down at her feet, like a guilty child, "I sort of dropped it into the pond. I was trying to search for it when you came," she reasoned.

Aoko bent down to the rippling, shiny surface of the water, and screened it for any sign of foreign items.

"I don't see any –!!!!" her comment was cut short by a rough hand that punched her head down under the water. She straggled for a few moments, silvery bubbles streaming out from her mouth. As she watched those precious breaths of air float away, she felt her mind turn to fog, and she blacked out.

…

"Sir, we brought those two girls, as you wanted."

The shadowy man turned around slowly, and proceeded to check on the hostages. One was sopping wet, a cluster of duckweed hanging down on her head.

"What happened to her?"

The agents that brought them quickly replied, "Vermouth lured her to a pond, sir."

"And she's dirty now. Go pick off those weeds, and tie them both up. I want them, as well as everything else, to be in perfect condition at ten in the night tomorrow. If they wake up, then give them some tranquillizer."

"Yes, sir."

The agents strode coolly out the door with the two girls hanging limply at their side.

…

Conan was extremely worried.

Not only that Ai was still looking for him to repay him for crashing her computer, but when he got home, he realized Ran was missing as well.

Now there was no one to cook dinner for him, and he was starving after all that running from the deranged scientist.

Kogoro was not home, at least, and he didn't have to put up with that drunken old man for that night.

Still…

He had called her phone number. No answer. He called Sonoko's phone number. She said she had no idea where Ran was. He had even gone on to call his elementary school friends, Heiji and Kazuha, Professor Agasa, and her mom Eri, even, but they all turned up with negative results. He sighed, and put the phone back onto the receiver.

It was getting really late. "It's so unlike Ran to stay out very late in the night, unless it was a party Sonoko told her about or something, but since she doesn't know a fig about it, I'd say… she's ran into trouble. But I don't have the tracking button, nor a badge on her, so I can't track her down," mused the child.

The clock struck eleven now, and she still was not home. He called Sonoko again, to make sure it was not a prank, but once again she said she had not seen her since school ended. He sighed, and picked up a packet of instant noodles to eat.

When he had finished, it was almost twelve. He quickly jumped into a suit of school uniform, the spare one he kept in his room just in case he happened to eat anything that would change him back into Shinichi, and sat on the sofa, trying with all his might to keep himself awake.

The clock's hand ticked past twelve, and once again he revealed his true self. His wings had cramped themselves up behind his back, and he scolded himself for not remembering to slit a pair holes for them. He toddled off uncomfortably to his room, and changed into a shirt with slits at the back, then went back to his post on the couch.

Nothing much happened between twelve and one, except that a couple of mischievous birds that decided to honk loudly at the window for no apparent reason, causing him to jump. He got up and opened the glass panel, and waved his hand at them, shooing them away. They cocked their heads in interest at him, then squawked even louder.

"Oh for crying out loud, can't you things just go away?" he muttered angrily under his breath, as he picked up a newspaper to shoo them away with. Just then, he heard a scrabbling at the door, loud in the silence of the night.

He tentatively opened the door, and peeked outside.

"Co-Shinichi-kun!" came the cry, and a huge bundle of sky blue scales attacked his face, sending him collapsing onto the couch with all four limbs in the air. His wings quickly spread out to cushion his fall, but inadvertently bashed a can of beer that was left lying around, and the barely-fermented drink spilled out onto the floor with a loud clang and a splash.

He cringed, afraid that the noise might wake someone up, or at least attract a lot of attention, but it didn't. He thankfully picked up the can and cleaned the floor, then turned to the cheeky Miranda, who had taken sofa-jumping to be her new favorite sport.

"Hey, you mind if you don't play there? I know you could always fly if you fall, but I don't think Ran or Kogoro would be happy to see their couch with the stuffing pouring out."

"Fine, fine." Miranda clambered down from the sofa and hugged his leg, the highest part of him that she could reach without using her wings. "It's great to see you again, Shinichi-kun. May I call you that instead of Shinichi-oniisan?"

"Okay."

"Yay!" she squealed and squeezed his leg even tighter. He at once vowed to himself that he would never die of a stroke caused by Miranda hugging his head.

"Where's Twin? I don't see him anywhere. Is he here tonight as well?"

Twin's white fluffy head peeped in from the doorway. "I'm here all right, Kudo, but you didn't invite me in."

They both laughed, and Shinichi pulled Twin in by the wrist.

After a few cups of coffee (and hot chocolate for the minor), Twin asked Shinichi what he was doing up so late.

"Ran isn't back home yet, and if there was a sleepover she would have told me about it at first. I'm really worried if something bad happened to her," he answered, turning his gaze away and casting it longingly out the window.

"Why don't you go find her then?" asked Miranda naively.

Twin bopped her lightly on the head with a paw, and grinned toothily at her. "Kudo can't find her, silly. Not everyone has a built in GPS system in their minds, let alone a tracking device." Miranda stuck her tongue out at him.

Twin lapped at his coffee, then turned to Shinichi. "You should really get some sleep. Look at those eyebags! People would wonder about them the next morning."

"B-But…"

"It's okay, Shinichi-kun! We'll keep up the night watch for you, and let you know if Ran does come back," said Miranda, her fragile antennae twirling around.

"Alright then, I'll leave it up to you guys." Shinichi stifled a yawn, and lumbered groggily to his room.

"Wait."

He turned, and looked at Twin.

Twin put his mug back down on the table, and stood up.

"I think I should tell you what happened yesterday night before you go to bed."

"I don't know if you know her, but yesterday we found a vampire at your door when we went there last night. She had long platinum blond hair, and was dressed in a red cape."

"Serin," hissed Shinichi darkly. Then, his face brightened back up, as if Twin had not said anything. "I just need to be a little wary, that's all, nothing to be afraid of."

"You sure you are good with that? From what I have heard from Miranda, she might be back to take her revenge."

"It's okay," replied Shinichi, smiling at the imp, then going back to his room for some well-needed rest.

…

Hakuba put down the blueprints he had drawn up, and glanced around at his audience.

"So now we have the basis of the plan laid out, and I say we carry it out tomorrow night, when they least expect it, and when it is almost twelve, we can then strike."

The officers seated around the table applauded, but then one spoke up.

"Detective Hakuba, but what if the plan fails and they both escape? They're really clever as well, you know."

"Yes, I am very aware of that, and that is why I expect one hundred percent effort on this operation, understood?"

They all chorused in agreement. Hakuba rubbed his hands together in glee. With Inspector Nakamori on his side now, having believed that it was Kaito Kid who took her daughter, and that he would be most delighted to help out in any way he can, Hakuba knew he was placed at a great advantage against the two.

"Just you wait, Kudo and Kid. Just you wait."


	8. Chapter 8: The Call

Facepalming!!!! And a lot of little balls of cotton that I shall decide to stuff here… =)

…

Conan woke up the next morning, and fumbled his way sleepily to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast.

"Oh yeah, breakfast," he thought, and went off to wake Ran up.

His hand turned the knob, and he was surprised to find the room empty.

Then, accounts of the previous night made their way into his mind, making him surge up at once.

"Ran is still missing then, or maybe Twin and Miranda have found her."

He searched around for a note left by the both of them, and found a slip of paper tied to the main door with a long, white hair. He opened it eagerly, and the bluish writing jumped out at him.

"We stayed up till eight, but there was no sign of Ran through the night. Sorry. From, Miranda and Twin"

Conan sighed in disappointment and put away the note. The time was eight thirty in the morning, and Ran was still not home.

"She has definitely gotten into trouble," he thought, while quickly changing into proper clothes.

"Kudo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

He jumped at the shout, and found himself being picked up and shaken about.

"I'm dreadfully sorry, I just had to do it, sorry, sorry, sorry, but he made me to, I didn't have a choice…"

"Calm down, Hattori!" cried Conan, and the Osakan detective quickly put his friend down. "Don't rush, and tell me what's wrong."

"I…I…Hakuba found one of your feathers."

"What?"

"And he wanted to take it for testing! But I tried to make off with it before he could, and he caught me just as I was about to leave, and he made me spill everything, every single last thing! I'm so sorry, there was nothing I could do…" Heiji slurred through his words, his note of panic and terror rising rapidly.

"Whoa whoa whoa, tell me slowly this time. And every single detail."

Under that command, Heiji poured out the confrontation against Hakuba, his recount dotted and blotted with multiple apologies. Conan listened to it all with a blank look on his face, and when Heiji was done he flopped onto the couch.

"I'm really sorry, Kudo…"

"Enough. There was nothing else you could do. So what? Hakuba probably knows about this a long time ago, and was just finding proof. It's okay." He turned and looked up at his friend, and smiled. "Now you know how it felt like when you first found me out."

"I guess, but this is entirely different! What if Hakuba manages to piece together the fact that you are hiding Kid at your house? Wouldn't things get messy then? And what about the Black Organization?"

The men in black!! Conan jolted up, as if his ears were sparkplugs.

"Why didn't I think of that in the first place? They have a great chance of having taken Ran, especially if they have seen that stupid video that Hakuba took. They must have taken her, there's no other possible solution! Stupid men in black…if I ever get my hands on them I'll –" Conan was shaking so badly now, he had to stop talking or his jittering teeth would have chopped off his tongue.

"Kudo…you know better than that." Heiji placed his hand on the kid's quaking shoulders and patted them gently.

"You're right. I should probably save all those curses for the actual pummeling…"

"Kudo."

"Okay, okay."

Out of the blue, the cell phone that Conan had left on the table rang loudly, its shrill cry echoing across the stillness of the room. He picked it up, hoping that it would be Ran or at least, someone who knew where Ran was.

"Hello?" His voice carried over his overflowing anxiousness, and the caller grinned.

"Is this Edogawa Conan?"

"Y-Yeah?" He didn't recognize the voice…and the caller ID said it was a private phone. The voice was musty…cold…but definitely not Gin's. Wait…what if he was using a voice changer?

"I don't suppose you realized your guardian's missing, have you?"

He took a deep breath to calm himself down. "You. Have. Her."

"Yes," came the harsh reply, "I have her. But I am willing to give her back to you, of course…and I am sure that Kaito Kid would not want his friend to die as well."

Conan frowned. "Just how many hostages do you have?"

"Two. One is your beloved Ran, and the other would be a very good friend of Kaito Kid's."

"You've. Freaking. Got. Ran."

"I want you to be at the jetty tonight, at ten, together with the one called Kuroba Kaito. The both of you must come alone, or your friends will pay the price."

"What?"

"If you don't come, or get the police with you, you can say your last words to your friends. And you shall not bring any phones and such, nor tell anyone where you are going, if you want to see your guardian again. Understood?"

Conan nodded in silence, then remembered that the caller could not see him. "Okay."

"Good. I'll give you further instructions when we see you there tonight."

With that, the caller hung up. Conan put down the phone and turned to Heiji.

"So?"

"They've. Got. Ran."

"Chill it." To emphasize his point, he dumped a bucket of cold water on the shivering kid. "You've gotta think of a plan to save her, then, and not stand around fuming! You care about her, don't you?"

Conan shook off the water, sending drops flying onto his friend. "Okay."

They fell silent for a few minutes, then suddenly Conan spoke up.

"Wait…they said they had a friend of Kuroba's… I think we should go tell him."

"Good then."

…

The sweet cool air breezed around him, the intriguing scent of adventure and risk tickling his nose. He raised his arms up, and felt the cape behind him flap, as he gazed at the city lights sprawled out before him. He was set to go, with his poker face on and his tricks up his sleeve.

He was about to shoot off into the night sky on his hang-glider when…

"Kuroba! Wake up!"

Kaito rolled over with a jerk, and bonked his head onto the floor. He sat up grumpily, annoyed that someone busted into his dream.

"Tantei-kun you little brat!" he snarled, and picked up the kid standing in front of him by the collar. Conan was shaken around again, while Kaito yelled at him endlessly, until Heiji split them both apart.

"Seriously, how hard can telling him about it be?" he wondered.

Conan rubbed his dizzy head, and quickly pushed Kaito up against the bed. "Kuroba, you've got to listen to me. The Black Organization's taken Ran, and probably someone you know too. We've got to find them; they said that they want us alone at the jetty, and that they would blow the both of them up if we don't listen to their commands! What are we gonna do, Kuroba?"

Kaito stuck his finger into his sore ears and spun it around. When he pulled out his finger again, a large ball of cotton wool popped out. He did the same for the other ear, before turning back to the kid. "What did you say again?"

Conan slapped his palm onto his face.

Heiji explained the situation to the groggy teenager, who scratched his head in confusion as he listened. When he was done, Kaito leaned back and looked up at the ceiling.

"So…I wonder who got kidnapped. Ran and someone else close to me? I wonder who it is..."

They all sat down and thought about it for a few seconds, but then a sudden loud yell that shook the house told them the answer very clearly. Kaito stifled his laugh, knowing that the circumstances were serious, but he saw that the others were having trouble trying not to burst out laughing as well.

…

"YOU NITWITS!!!! MY DAUGHTER HAS GONE MISSING AGAIN!!! I WANT HER TO BE FOUND THIS INSTANT!!!"

The officers jumped, and quickly scurried off, pulling out balls of cotton wool hastily stuffed into their ears and throwing them out of sight. Inspector Nakamori swiveled around in his chair, and turned to Hakuba.

"WELL?!"

Hakuba wished that he was a cat and could flatten his ears, but no. "I think that your daughter may have something to do with the disappearance of Kaito Kid, Inspector."

"THAT BLASTED THIEF AGAIN?! I'M TELLING YOU, IF I DON'T GET MY DAUGHTER BACK BY TONIGHT I'M GONNA –"

"Fine, fine! I promise, you will have your daughter back, and a bonus if we catch Kid again as well, but you'll just have to help me."

Inspector Nakamori seemed to calm down a little, and he narrowed his beady eyes at the detective. "You want me to do what?"

"Well…"

…

She was running. Running from what, she did not know. Running where, she did not care. She was just…running.

The path before her was pitch black, and it was hard to see, not even the floor she was stepping on. She bet that if she stepped into a hole, she would not have even known it was there.

A sudden sweep of paper-thin objects grazed past her cheek, arms and legs, and the moon behind her parted to reveal a cacophony of ravens, all flying past her, towards something in front. She followed them, and found them gathering around a clearing.

She squeezed into the ring, and found that a huge black raven, with void black wings, was jabbing at a pair of birds with his dark beak. Another bird, a white pigeon maybe, was huddled in a corner of the circle, its wings wrapped tightly around another pigeon. The pair of birds fighting the raven was scratching at its face, pecking its back, but it was useless; the raven did not seem to have taken any damage. One snow white dove suddenly darted out from the pair, while the other rose up high, aiming for the raven's head. The first dove jabbed its short beak repeatedly into the raven's neck, while the other zoomed down and clawed at its head. Just then, the huge raven uttered a low screech and reared up, its coal black wings enveloping the two doves like the living tendrils of darkness, pulled them in, and closed its wings again.

The doves were gone.

The pigeons huddled together more closely now, fright and terror etched onto their pale faces. The ravens descended on them as a bunch, and they did not even have time to squeak, until the evil, ruthless darkness swallowed them up too. Then, the largest raven turned to face her, its glittering eyes rife with malice. She backed away, into more ravens, who all started crowding around her, until she could see… no more.

She screamed with all her might, hoping that someone would find her, rescue her.

But the growing dreadful darkness smothered her body, her soul, her entire being, and she was plunged into the dizzying, endless black.

...

For you readers, you can take the girl referred to above as Ran or Aoko, I don't mind.


	9. Chapter 9: Stroke of Ten

You know how, when you read a story to the slimax, you never want it to end? That feeling? Well...I kinda' got stuck at the climax point. And then I got stuck at trying to draw out the three plans for a week in total. -_-

* * *

"Ready?"

Conan straightened his bow tie, hoping that it looked perfectly normal on him. Of course, he would have the wits to take all his gadgets along with him, so he should keep them as well disguised as possible. The bow tie looked a little tart, but then again, it was what he usually wore.

"Okay. Thirty to ten, we should have enough time to get there."

"You sure you are okay, Shinichi?" the professor's voice streamed into his ears, and he realized that Heiji must have probably told both Ai and him about it too.

"Yeah, Professor. I think I can do just fine, with the plan we all made earlier. If it doesn't go wrong, then you can expect us back by morning."

He hopped into the bright yellow car, right beside Kaito. He nudged the teenager in the ribs, and was responded with a hard squash on the head.

"All right then, I'll just drive you guys to the jetty and come back, like we said," confirmed the professor, his sweaty hands clutching on to the steering wheel.

"Sure."

…

To be honest, Hakuba was not even sure whether his plan would work. There was a huge chance of his targets realizing that they were followed, and then they would try to lose the extra cars tailing behind them. He would just have to pin it on luck and the skill of the officers, then.

He turned on the communicating device he had put into his ear like an earphone. "Testing, testing, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Detective Hakuba," chorused the other officers stationed at their posts.

"Good. Remember, I, nor Inspector Nakamori, will tolerate any carelessness in the operation. Things are to follow strictly to the plan, understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good."

Hakuba leaned back in the front seat of the car he was in, and watched as the targets loaded themselves into the yellow car that he proposed belonged to the old man. It was a little strange, they having to go somewhere at this time of night. But he would find out anyway. As the vehicle drove away, the driver stepped on the accelerator and started following the car through the winding city streets. Although he didn't know where they were going, he was extra-determined to find out. They wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance against the people he had brought. He smiled to himself in confidence.

Things would go according to plan tonight, no matter what they decide to do at the last minute.

…

Her eyes opened, her throat was parched and dry. Something round, covered with a layer of thin, stringy things that felt like silk fibers rested on her shoulder. Aoko turned and looked at it, and found that she could not see a single thing.

The area was black with small patches of blue; the only light that was streaming in from the restraining windows was from the moon. She tried to get up, but found herself tied into a sitting position with equally restraining rope. She tried to say something to wake the other person up, but the choking piece of rank cloth kept her mouth firmly sealed shut. It tasted like dirty socks, as if it had been worn for a month straight and never washed.

The person lying on her shoulder stirred, and opened her brilliant sapphire eyes. She could see clearly the uncertainty flitting around in panic behind her vivid irises. The other girl was, too, gagged and bound to a pair of wooden chairs, the latter which they were both sitting on.

It was a little scary, true, but she came to the most obvious conclusion on what had happened to them. They were either kidnapped and being held hostage by a bunch of bad people, or the guys were playing a prank on them. Probably not the second choice. Even Kaito would not do it to this extent.

Maybe someone would come and save the both of them. Maybe.

…

Gin watched as the two girls woke up. He flitted near one of the small windows, checking to see if his 'guests' had arrived yet. The landscape outside was blank, though, with the occasional ship passing through. Other than that, there was no sign of anyone else in sight.

"Are you sure they would come?" asked a voice, and Gin turned to see Vodka rustle a little behind him. He nodded curtly, and waved him away.

Then, he blended back into the shadows, and continued waiting.

…

"We're here. Take good care of yourselves, alright, boys?"

"Sure," they echoed back to the professor.

Conan and Kaito both slipped out of the car, and came out onto the jetty. Conan took a deep breath, taking in the wet sea air, the warm landward breeze curling around his neck. It was supposed to feel calm and assuring, but somehow he was even more nerved by it. Conan's phone beeped and he read the new message from Gin, probably.

"I see you near the jetty. The place where your friends are is at the warehouse nearest the sea, farthest from the main port."

They trudged off, and soon came to their destination. The old dilapidated warehouse was harboring mould in its peeling wooden walls, and a strong, stale smell seemed to radiate from between the gaps. The windows etched into the pale walls were gaunt and soulless, as if the house itself was some sort of living monster that was waiting to eat them up. The breeze around them was icy cold, the kind one would get the chills from when one was in a haunted graveyard. Conan looked up at the building, which seemed almost just nicely eerie for the meeting.

Kaito glanced at his watch. "It's nearly ten now. Do you want to go in?"

Conan steadied himself. It would take a lot more than just theoretical thinking and mental planning to get over this potentially fatal confrontation. If he messed up, even by just a little, they would sense it and all their efforts would have gone down the drain.

"Hey."

He turned around, and walked towards Kaito.

"You really think we can do this?"

Kaito crouched down and ruffled the boy's soft ebony hair. His mouth curled into a comforting grin, his eyes twinkling with that old flame of mischief and adventurous curiosity. "You'll do fine, Tantei-kun. Now, let's go save our friends."

Conan nodded, leading the three pairs of legs through the door.

…

Gin glanced out of the window and snapped his phone shut, a grin stretching from ear to ear.

"See," he told Vodka, who was lurking right behind him in the gloom, "They would come."

…

Hakuba's car pulled up behind another warehouse. There were many of these wooden storages lined up along the harbor, but there was a specific one that the targets had decided to go to. Signaling with the officers that had just arrived after him, he slowly circled nearer and nearer to the warehouse, dispersing the officers around the area and closing in on the targets.

Inspector Nakamori joined him, his gun held at the ready.

"Aoko is in there. I can just feel it," he whispered in his gravelly voice, his eyes blazing with suppressed rage.

Hakuba motioned for him to be silent, as they, and the other officers snaked towards the warehouse, surrounding it completely, so that no one would have any chance of escaping; be it by air, water or land. The sea in front of them had a couple of motorboats filled with officers who were in on the operation and were called on to provide backup, and it went the same with the police helicopters soaring above them noiselessly high in the air. Hakuba was not sure if he had called for that many helicopters, for the sky seemed to be black because of their silhouettes. "Then again," he thought, "the more the merrier."

Hakuba's eyes narrowed as he watched the three enter the warehouse, and his hand slipped cautiously down into his pocket and grabbed hold of his gun.

…

Conan pushed open the door nervously, his mind worried on all the possible things that would go wrong. While pondering about Murphy's Law, he scanned the surroundings.

The place was a sore sight – or rather, a sore something that could not be seen, for it was too dark to even make out a single person in it, let alone Ran. He did breathing exercises once more, and walked in, Kaito following close behind him. The moment the both of them were safely in the building, the door swung itself shut with a loud slam, causing them both to jump. They were plunged into a creepy darkness for a few moments, then were blinded as a hanging lamp came on, illuminating only the middle of the room. Sat at the end of the ellipse furthest to them were the two hostages, each bound and gagged to the wooden chairs they were set upon. Kaito both cried out loud when they recognized their respective hostages.

"Aoko!"

"So, you really have come," echoed a sinister voice, reverberating all around the walls of the room. Kaito jumped an inch into the air, while Conan's face bleached itself, draining it of all possible color. The kid's eyes widened in horror, the lamp casting a large shadow onto his frightened face

A tall man draped in black stepped out of the darkness, a black hat covering the most part of his face, adding an even more disturbing look to his already baleful appearance. His long hair nearly reached down to his ankles, which he had not bothered to tie up, whirled around him like a cape, yet there was no faint trace of any breeze blowing around in the warehouse. Behind him, a shorter, stockier man flowed closely, like a dog to its master. He was, too, dressed in black, a pair of dark sunglasses shielding his eyes from recognition. Kaito tensed himself, adrenaline rushing through his bloodstream, and his hands clenched together tightly. Conan scuttled behind the teenager and hugged onto his legs in fear.

"Let Aoko and Ran go."

Gin laughed cockily at him, and shot back a question. "Oh? And what would you do if I didn't?"

Conan peeked out from behind Kaito, and rebuffed, even if his voice was nearly the whoosh of the wind in the air. "You said that if we came, you would give us Ran-neechan and Aoko-oneesan back."

Gin reached a gloved hand into his pocket and drew out a small, box-like object with a large antenna sticking out of the top. It had a red button on its front that took up almost all the available space. He brandished it at them, a contempt smirk contorting his thin line of a mouth.

"Do you know what this is?"

Conan shook his head genuinely.

"It's a detonator. I've got bombs planted in the walls of this building, so that no one would find any trace of this meeting. But if I wanted to, I can set them off prematurely, and take out everyone in this room. So, if you want your friends back, listen to what I have to say." His tongue flickered in and out like a snake, waiting to pounce onto its prey and deliver the fatal blow.

…

Ai crept around stealthily in the darkness. True, it was hard to see, with the exception of the light in the middle of the room, which didn't exactly go very far. Yet, she had managed so far to avoid a lot of obstacles, and realized that Conan and Kaito were in much greater trouble than they had imagined.

The entire room was a huge setup.

Gin had planned it straight from the start. The lamp would only shine down on the middle of the room, leaving the edges in darkness, where he could safely station his backup agents. There were a lot of them, armed to the teeth, ready to shoot when instructed to.

It was dark, and no one should have been able to see the agents, though. How did she do it?

Simple. Sensing the positions and shapes their blood takes the form of.

"Do you know what this is?"

Ai turned to see Gin wave a detonator in front of her friends' faces. She knew what it can, and would, do. It was only a matter of time before Gin would dismiss this as a complete waste of time, and detonate it anyway. And she knew him enough to know that there was not just one detonator.

There were two. And she had taken out the backup one, held by one of the agents.

That particular agent had his hand constantly slipping into his pocket, his fingers wrapping around a vaguely rectangular object, around the size of a small jar. Ai had whisked it out of his pocket before he even noticed, and replaced, yes, a small jar in its place. The daft agent did not even notice the difference.

Ai quickly disarmed the detonator, and placed the parts into her pocket. They might just come in handy later.

She looked up to check on the situation again, and saw Gin talking to them again. Ran and Aoko had woken up by now, and were staring at the boys helplessly, tears pooling at the sides of their eyes.

"I go on a life-for-life exchange basis. So, if you want the girls to live, I would have to shoot you. Though, it is still your choice." His grin was full of malice, knowing that he had the duo at a loss of what to do. Kaito paled considerably, and Conan squeezed his leg even tighter. The girls, upon hearing the conditions, started jiggling up and down in their seats wildly, their eyes brimming with fear and defiance, trying to get the guys to leave them.

"Good. Now for part one of the plan," muttered Ai silently to herself.

…

It was taking too long. Hakuba glanced at his watch for the umpteenth time that night. It was nearing eleven-thirty, the minutes ticking away as fast as seconds. He slithered over to a window, and saw that a light had been turned on in the building. He peeked in.

Ran and Aoko chained to chairs, gagged, the targets being held up by two men in black, both with evil grins on their faces. He did not really welcome being cliché, but this was a real kidnapping case. Inspector Nakamori squeezed in behind him, and very –very nearly pounded on the glass to attract his daughter's attention. Hakuba had only stopped him just in time.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" cooed a slightly flirty, even sexy, voice.

Both Hakuba and Inspector Nakamori jumped, and whirled around to find themselves face to face with…Serin Kirandra, ex-detective.

Serin cocked an eyebrow at their surprised faces, and knelt down to talk to Hakuba.

"I think, I should help you guys out, in terms of physical power as well."

"Fine," cut the teenager, nodding his approval. "We're going to need all the help we can get."

…

Ai tiptoed lightly behind the two girls, and whipped out her hairpin and the stun-gun watch. She had to put them to sleep if the plan was going to work, and luckily the darts acted like a charm. They were softly dozing off in seconds. She sipped swiftly behind them and started on the locks. It was relatively easy to pick the locks on the chains, and she finished the job in under a minute, although the girls have to be kept in the dark that they were freed. She waited until Vodka started loitering near the edge of the circle of light, and slipped behind him, careful to keep her shadow in line with his huge one. When Vodka was near Gin once more, she bent down quickly and punched a button at the side of her right shoe, slammed her palm onto another button on the top of her belt, which ejected out a soccer ball, and sent it at Gin's hand at full force with a loud cry. The impact knocked out the detonator device he held in its grasp. Vodka, stunned but not hesitant, dived for it, but Kaito slid forward and kicked him away, his foot making hard contact with his nose. The fat man spiraled away, both hands trying to stop the bleeding through his nostrils. Gin whirled out a shiny black pistol and shot at Ai and the device, trying to activate it. With a huge stroke of luck, Ai grabbed the remote and fled to Kaito's and Conan's side, the device safely cuddled in her arms.

Gin laughed. "Well now, Sherry. You've decided to join us for this little party now, have you? Well then, let me warn you, that this party," his tone changed from sarcastically friendly to something straight out from hell, "might as well be you and your friends' funeral."

Ai hissed, her fingers reaching towards the belt once more. Gin coolly pointed his cocked gun at the belt and pulled the trigger. The bullet's aim was true, and it smashed into the mechanisms of the gadget, but did not pierce through it. Ai swore, and glared up defiantly into Gin's icy cold eyes.

"How'd you know it was me, ojiisan?"

"I know your face since young, I suppose. I guess that would be what comes out of having your whole family involved in the organization. Oh, and that remote you're holding would only be a dud. I have the real one right here, in my pocket." He withdrew another box-like object from within his long coat, and smirked nastily. "Since you have not listened to my clear instructions, I think, it's time for you all to die." His finger hovered tentatively over the bright red button, and just as he was about to press it…

…a bullet shot itself from out of nowhere and pierced through his hand, scattering drops of crimson red blood onto the floor. He snarled and dropped the gun, clutching at his wounded hand in pain. The doors flew open with a bang, and the officers, all with their guns raised and aimed at Gin, strode in. Gin cursed, and suddenly yelped out.

"Shoot!"

Out from the darkness, a million bullets suddenly shot out, like a heavy downpour of rain. Kaito and Conan sprinted over to the girls, freed them and everyone ducked behind a bunch of crates and sacks stacked in a corner of the room. Ai scrambled for the remote, picked it up and ran towards them, stray bullets nearly clipping off her head, and squirmed behind the makeshift wall as well. The officers, led by Inspector Nakamori, swarmed into the room, now getting packed due to the vast number of people inside it, and started gunning down as many agents as possible. The inspector was yelling, swearing in his colorful language, dodging bullets and trying to look for Aoko within the whole mess at the same time. Ai applauded his multitasking talent quietly.

"AOKO!!!" he boomed over and over again, and Ai vaguely surprised that none of the bullets actually entered his mouth. She bent her head down once more, keeping the sight of the battle out, as a couple of bullets whizzed past where her head had been less than a second ago.

…

Hakuba slapped his palm onto his forehead, mumbling irritably to himself.

"He just had to barge in there…doesn't he know that would cost his and the officers' lives… that stupid idiot…" he paced around and around, all while the battle inside was ongoing. He didn't want to die for no reason, yet he wanted to save the hostages and maybe the targets, but he would have to put his life at a huge risk then. He sighed, and held his head with his hand.

"Need help?"

He looked up, and gazed into those smoky grey eyes that he had not seen for some time.

"Okay."

Serin tilted her head at him. "Are you sure you won't arrest me for helping you?"

"It's an all out operation now; the officers are instructed shoot to kill already. Even if you decapitate a couple of agents in the process, but the hostages are still alive, then I cannot pin any blame on you." Hakuba accompanied his statement with a roll of his eyes.

Serin smiled, her eyes closing into a pair of 'n'-shaped crescents. She held Hakuba firmly by the shoulders. Hakuba peered behind her just in time to see a pair of dark red bat wings open out from under her cloak. He uttered a 'eep', but did not have time to say any more as Serin lifted his legs off the ground and dived into the battle.

* * *

I think...most people would get a little confused towards the way I am telling the story from Ai's POV. Note to readers: The style and content is done entirely on purpose!!! =) I think you know what is the plan for Conan's side, now that I've given such a huge clue...


	10. Chapter 10: Stroke of Twelve

!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This chapter was 2 weeks late!!!!!!!!!!!!! (goes off to emo about long chapters and deadlines and my typing speed)

Note to self: When trying to type remove all forms of distraction, including Touhou Project games and PatchCon. (Yes I play Touhou...Anyone finished Double Spoiler yet?)

* * *

"That was a pretty good skit you've put up, Ai."

Ai could barely hear Conan's voice against the roar of the brawl, but she made out what he said by lip-reading. She nodded, then turned back to watch the battle.

It was close to utter chaos. The members of the Black Organisation and the police were heaving it out on the field, throwing a number of weapons at their enemies. She could just see the blurry form of Inspector Nakamori doing a hundred-metre sprint all around the room while dodging any stray , crying out for his daughter. She turned her head backwards to look at Aoko's reaction, and found her being held back from running to her father by Kaito. Tears pooled at the sides of her eyes.

"Look out!"

They all ducked, and a split second later a rain of stray bullets whizzed over their heads and drilled holes into the wall behind them.

Conan grabbed Ai by the shoulders and pulled Kaito down, so that their ears were within earshot of his mouth.

"Okay. Things don't look so good. Remember what the second part of our plan was…"

…

A long series of colourful swear words hissed out from under his mouth. Once again, he raised his gun and fired at the wall of sacks and crates, the sharp bullets piercing the thick cotton and coming to a complete stop in the stuff that lay inside. He stalked closer, his weapon still raised, ready to pull the trigger at any sudden movement.

He could see their trembling shadows behind the temporary wall. They were shaking, as if an earthquake had conveniently happened right below them. He was really close to them right now, just in front of the pile, and he loaded his gun once more.

There were five people. Two girls still traumatised by the situation, two kids, and an able-bodied teenager. Five shots; five perfectly aimed shots were all it took to finish them off.

Then there was the police to deal with. Nah, the bombs would take care of that.

He pointed the gun barrel straight at where he perceived the teenager's head should be. Killing him off first would leave the other four defenceless, and whatever elaborate scheme they had cooked up would be rendered useless. From there, picking the rest off would be as easy as pie.

He pulled the trigger.

Out from the small black cylinder shot a single bullet, the gunpowder propelling it forward, slicing the very air before it. The sharp end of the bullet dug into the wooden frame of the crate, shattering the first layer, then did the same for the back one. It entered and exited the wood, into something behind it, and the object let out a spurt. He peered over, expecting to see the five frozen with their mouths wide open in shock, one presumably dead, and the others trembling and begging for mercy.

Instead, he saw a round grey ball, grain pouring out from a hole in the front like a gushing river of yellow water. The sack ball was propped up on a flat crate, making it have the appearance of a crouched human. The real humans were nowhere to be seen.

"CHAAAAARGE!!!"

A pair of small shadows suddenly loomed over him, growing bigger and bigger as each split second passed. He looked up finally just in time to see the two kids bring down a rather large crate of fish onto his head.

…

Kaito had planted himself far, far away from the two kids, trying not to get anywhere near that awful box of raw fish. He watched, a little gleefully, maybe, as the crate broke open upon contact, and wet, sloppy fish rained down on to the bad guy. Maybe it was the impact, or maybe it was the smell, but anyways, the bad guy was knocked out pretty fast. The two kids, deliriously delighted with their work, had taken to shouting taunts at the dazed man, some holding obscenities. He smiled, and then called the children to him. Tottering over while grinning madly, they grinned up at him. It was only then that he realised how evil shrunken kids could be.

Turning to the two girls, his mouth curled into a soft smile. "Come on now, the police will take care of everything now." He took them by the hands and walked towards the door.

"Not so fast!"

They all whirled around, surprised and horrified to see Gin getting up, his right hand clutching a petite black box. His mouth was pulled into a menacing snarl, the shadows flitting around him like a cluster of dark tentacles ready to grab and kill anything within reach. Gin slowly paced around them, until he was facing the doorway of the warehouse. Ai's usually milk-coloured face transitioned into a shade of sickly white.

"Oh no."

"Oh yes," sneered Gin, as the thin branches at the end of his sinewy arms curled around the remote as if it was a toy. His thin bony finger hovered over the red button for a fraction of a second before plunging down.

…

Hakuba felt the ominous rumble a few seconds before he got impact.

It was small at first, just the wall behind him vibrating, that's all. He continued fighting, as though there was nothing strange going on.

"Wait a minute," he thought, "walls don't rumble by themselves."

He sprinted away from the wall, which suddenly glowed brightly and exploded, sending all those unlucky people near it flying. He cried out a loud "RUN!!!" at the top of his voice, and sped towards the door, just like everyone else, be it Organization members or police officers. Along the way, he bumped into Inspector Nakamori, and hastily pulled him along towards the only escape route, just as another bomb on an adjacent wall blew up, sending a hail of debris after them. The inspector looked a little dazed as he surveyed his surroundings.

"Hey, Hakuba…" he mumbled softly.

Hakuba whipped his head around to face him, still running. "What?"

"Erm…where was that girl you were with just now?"

Hakuba's feet nearly stopped functioning. He spun around and around, his searching glare sweeping every corner of the area, yet he caught no sign of Serin. As he neared the entrance, he could only pray that she was alright.

…

"Are you done yet, Heiji?"

"Almost," replied the Osakan teenager, "I've just programmed the virus to erase any data concerning that video. Kudo would have to thank me for this." His fingers flitted around the keyboard like a group of dragonflies, racking up a nice tap-tap noise on the flat keys.

"Well, you had better hurry. Shinichi and the rest might very well be in danger right now, you know." The professor's half-bald head poked around the driver's seat to look at him, his eyes peering out of the glasses that sat perched on the bridge of his nose. Heiji smirked, and then finished off his job with a final click of his mouse.

"There. The virus has been released to onto the internet and onto whoever's computer that has the video or has seen the video onto it. Even the Google searches have been erased. But I'm afraid that we can't erase the people's memories, you know." He leant back onto the leather seat of the small yellow car and grinned to himself in satisfaction.

"Need not to worry; you've done your part. The memory erasing part…we'll just have to leave that to the Destiny."

…

"Come on, we've got to go!"

They dashed towards the exit just as another huge chunk of wall tumbled down just inches behind them. Everyone was jostling for the exit, pushing others away just to clear a road for themselves. It was every man for himself, really.

"Kudo!"

A dark pair of leathery maroon wings swooped down without warning and snatched up Conan in its grasp, the way and eagle grabs its puny prey. He screamed, and wrenched himself around to face his attacker. She smiled, maybe a tad too sadistically, and gripped him firmly in her hands, the nails digging painfully into his sides.

"Long time no see, Kudo-kun."

Conan was blank for a moment, then rebuffed, "Oh, er…hi. I would address you properly, if it wasn't for the unfortunate fact that your name has slipped my mind and that we are trying to escape from an old building that is caving in, so if you don't mind…"

"No way am I letting you go this time! I'll slow you down so much that you'll find yourself buried under all the rubble once the explosions stop!" she snapped at him, her sharp teeth clearly visible through her crazed grin.

Conan wriggled around in her grasp, the nails grazing against his clothes, leaving little slits where the points touched. "Let me go!" he cried.

"Oh, how I've been waiting for this moment for so long…when I finally get a chance to take a bite out of your cute little neck…" Her crooning was starting to get on Conan's nerves, and he kick, bit and punched her for all he was worth. Serin dropped him at last, but quickly swooped down again and grabbed him by the collar this time. She twisted his head out of the way, bent her head down, her razor-sharp canine teeth only within a few millimetres of Conan's exposed neck…

He scratched her face at the last moment, causing her nails to raze his face and scalp. The rubber peeled off him like a layer of wrapping paper, and the black bundle of hair slid down onto the ground. Coffee brown hair fluffed itself out, tired of being kept under that stuffy wig, and quickly hung back down at either side of the child's head. Serin flinched, and gasped, finally noticing that the child was not her intended target. She threw the kid back down onto the ground with force, and then looked at the Ai standing beside the group, a cheeky smirk on her face. She – no, he reached up and pulled of the mask shielding his face; and surprise, surprise, it was the economic-sized detective.

"I got her, I got her, I got –" Kaito stretched out his arms to catch the falling Ai, and she landed safely in his arms with a small poof. She looked up at Kaito with pleasure, and hugged him tightly. Both Kaito and Aoko, who happened to be watching, felt their faces explode into a bright shade of red.

"Pip Pip!"

Time seemed to freeze at that instant, as they turned to see where that beeping sound had come from. Conan held up his watch, and saw that the minute and hour hands were touching the number twelve. He smiled sweetly up at Serin, his eyes glinting with…mischief? Revenge? She could not see through his façade, through that pair of bright blue eyes which were starting to cloud up.

"Kaito, get everyone out of here immediately." The child whispered, making Kaito's face go pale.

"B-But..."

"Do it now!" yelled the kid, and Kaito grabbed hold of everyone's hands, whipped out a pristine white cape from seemingly nowhere, and whirled it around himself. When he let go of the cape, he fluttered to a stop behind him, the top corners attached to his shoulders, his costume in place, his white hat tipped cheekily over his face and the monocle covering up the mischievous look in his eye. He launched the hang glider strapped on his back, and soared towards the door. Turning back to face his opponent, he rapped the face of his watch twice.

The familiar red glow filled out the entire room, and even the falling debris seemed to slow down. Serin went blind again, but she was extremely lucky not to have anything hit her. The light died down soon enough, and Shinichi took to the air on the pair of snow white wings that protruded from his back.

"May I have this dance?"

Without warning, Serin attacked him with a blow to his abdomen, and he spiralled down to the floor, crashing into a crumpled heap on the jagged pieces of roof and wall with a sickening crack. Serin picked him up and whacked him on the debris, watching as fresh blood started gushing out of the wounds on his body. Once she was sure he could no longer resist, she drew out his neck and bit down heavily.

"This is way too easy," she thought as she tasted the warm blood streaming into her mouth. It was surprising that he could have been defeated with such a simple and straightforward tactic. His blood, her reward, was equally sweet, and she drained him until she could draw out no more.

She looked at the corpse she now held in her hand, and smiled.

Out of the blue, she heard a strange sound behind the body. She turned it over, and saw the wings fall off. She picked one up and fingered it; it was hard and cold, unlike a limb that had once belonged to a living thing. Some of the feathers dropped out, and she ran her hand over the hard white stuff that was supposedly the skin of the wing. It was a little rough, made up of white balls squashed together.

"Styrofoam?!"

She whipped off the wig on the body, and realised that it was not Shinichi she had fed on; it was just someone from the crowd, unluckily squashed to death by the debris, from the look of his broken ribcage. Every single bone on his chest was broken.

"I switched with him just before you whacked me in the gut, did you know?"

She looked up at the sound of that voice, that familiar, yet detested voice, and watched as he plunged a long iron pole into her own chest.

…

Ran hung on for dear life as the hang glider did many a daredevil stunt on its journey, lilting and dipping through the air, avoiding the falling roof, crumbling walls and even pulling off a loop-de-loop with grace. She squealed in thrilling fright as Kaito attempted yet another close swerve, laughing as Ran's hair brushed the surface of the chunk of cement and pole. Ran's long legs were dangling in midair, her hands gripping onto the handle of the huge white kite. Her fingers were slippery against the metal handle; it must be the sweat.

Her strength was faltering as she held onto the thin bar. Her fingers were slipping off the bar…she could not hold on much longer…

"Kaito! We'll never make it in time if you keep flip-flopping all over the place!" she heard Aoko's frenzied cry, and saw her hand reach down from the top of the hang glider where she was gripping on to. The teenage magician-slash-thief sighed in exasperation, and attempted another belly-upsetting turn, narrowly missing a bunch of brick red tiles cascading down from above. "What did you want me to do, Aoko?! I'm already flying as fast as I can, and my hang glider isn't made to carry three teenagers and a kid all at once!"

"Oh, I feel so small," retorted Ai sarcastically, while hanging onto Aoko's shoulders like a cape.

Kaito huffed, then dived away from another chunk of falling rubble.

Suddenly, his hang glider jerked up, and he fumbled his grip on the metal bar. Ignoring cries of surprise and fright from the girls behind him, he continued flying on.

"Wait, why does the glider feel a lot lighter?"

He casted his gaze downwards, and saw her land on the jagged debris with a loud crack.

"Ran!!"

He circled around and around above her. She seemed to move a little, and once again they called out to her. Maybe she opened her eyes a little, maybe she didn't. Kaito was not sure.

Just then, another big piece of wall tumbled down onto them. Kaito swerved just in time for it to miss him, but it went on and fell right smack on Ran! There was another deafening crack, and Kaito saw a glinting pool of blood form and seep out from under the hard cement. Seeing that there was nothing else he could do, or could have done, he quickly zipped out of the caving-in warehouse, and placed the girls down in front of the road, where the professor and that Osakan detective was waiting. With their help, the remaining girls were bundled into the car.

"Where's Kudo and Ran?" asked an inquisitive Heiji, noticing that the couple were not with Kaito.

"Erm…he's with her…back at the field. He told me to leave first…yeah." He was stammering, but he hoped that the other party would accept his pathetically pieced reason. The teen seemed to be okay with it, though, and proceeded to help the girls with their minor injuries.

Just then, there was another huge boom! Five heads turned towards the source, and watched as the last remnants of the warehouse toppled down like an unstable block tower. Kaito distinctively heard a loud yell. Maybe it was from the detective he had left there on the battlefield.

Uh oh. Any moment now the fearsome Shini(chi)gami would be back to would kill him.

* * *

APRIL 17TH IS TOMORROW!!!!!!!!( fangirl screams)

...but I don't understand much Japanese...*sigh*...shall have to wait until the fansubs are out...(goes of to emo again)


	11. Chapter 11: Hikari To Kage

Hikari to Kage...Light and Shadow. How fitting. =)

* * *

Gin watched as the warehouse tumbled down like a stack of unstable bricks, and smiled to himself. He had not seen any of them escape yet; they were most probably trapped in there, and very likely dead already.

Until he saw the white kite zoom out the door and land in front of a yellow Beetle.

He swore, and cocked his gun again.

...

"Kudo, you idiot! Kudo!!!!"

"It's no use calling for him now, Haibara! They've been blown to pieces!"

She sobbed a little more, while screaming his name out loud, the cold hard mask that shielded her inner self finally breaking apart, allowing the tide of tears to cascade down. After a while, she calmed down, while Heiji patted her on the shoulder comfortingly.

"We've got to go back and get Kudo and Ran," decided Ai.

"But we can't go now! There's a risk of getting shot, be it by that idiot Hakuba or that guy with the long hair!" retorted Heiji.

"I just wanna go home…" wailed Aoko, sobbing into Kaito's shoulder. He sat there on the chair, staring at his shoes through a pair of glassy eyes.

"What makes you want to go back for them now? You like him or something?!"

Ai shot back her answer to Heiji's question heatedly. "Fine! So what if I like him?! It's still human lives that we are going to lose here, you know!" They continued on their argument, much to the annoyance of the rest of the passengers.

"Can't you two break it up already?" said Professor Agasa, reaching over and pushing them apart. They both huffed, and pouted in opposite directions.

Just then, something struck the glass window of the car, shattering it into a million pieces. The shards of glass rained down on them, and they crammed to the other side of the car, trying not to get cut. Kaito heard a menacing laugh echoing from outside, and peeped around the broken window to see who it was.

Gin stood there, the lone raven in the night, his pistol cocked and aimed at Kaito's head, the beady eyes under the brim of his black hat glinting with malevolence. A wisp of smoke trailed from the barrel of the gun, and Kaito found the bullet lodged in the leather covers of the seat. He opened the door and slipped out of the car, and faced his predator like a hero who was not afraid of death.

"You've already did Kudo in. I guess you can do me in too."

Gin smirked at his gallantness, and pulled the trigger.

…

Her head hurt. It was as if it had been cracked open. She could still taste the warm blood trickling down her forehead, where the cement had smashed her skull. Her eyes registered darkness all around her, maybe she had gone blind, or she was already dead.

Nothingness, she felt.

The ground was soft, yet firm at the same time, and vaguely warm too. Almost as if…she was on a warm fluffy cloud, basking in the golden rays of the sun. Then again, that could not be true, for it was pitch black.

Her consciousness registered a series of faint puffs of air popping on top of her right arm. Maybe it was a little draft from somewhere, she thought. The light puffs tickled her skin, warming it up where they touched. It was a little comforting, the feeling.

Her senses were slowly rebooting up. She heard a heavy breathing in the direction of the drafts, and felt something like scrunched up limbs supporting her body. She stirred slowly, and the breathing froze, plunging her into silence.

It was not for long, until she heard the rhythmic beating of a heart in a chest thumping loudly. She raised her head and nuzzled the firm wall of flesh that held it in, nosing around its warm and soft surface. The breathing started again, and she thought she heard a relieved sigh.

"You're awake?"

The voice was familiar, and her eyes adjusted to the dimness of the environment quickly. She saw that her legs were tucked under her arms, and his lower body and legs curled under her like a baby's cradle. The broken rubble surrounded them, but it somehow; the little hole did not cave in on them. She looked up and gazed into the brilliant blue eyes that gleamed in the darkness.

"Shinichi-kun…?"

He smiled. "Good, you're awake. You've had such a bad fall just now…man, am I going to kill Kuroba when we get back home."

She did not say a word.

"Shall we get out now? The others are waiting for us."

"Why am I not dead? And why doesn't the rubble and everything fall down?"

He sighed at her inquisitiveness, and gestured up at the pair of white feathered limbs holding up the low ceiling. Half of the snowy feathers were drenched in crimson red blood, congealing into round drops. She wondered at them, then decided to ask him.

"You…so the other two times weren't dreams."

A look of confusion flickered across his face. "What other two times?"

"There was one when Conan jumped off the building with me on piggyback, turned into you and flew to the ground. The other would be when someone who looked like Serin grabbed me out from the window and you saved me again."

"Oh. Those two. Nah, no nig deal."

"You don't count this as another big deal now, do you?"

"Err…"

She smiled, her childish demeanour looking so innocent and sweet under the circumstances. Shinichi twitched a wing, letting a little bit of cement fall down beside them.

"When I fly out, there will be a lot of building to go through, so keep your hands and legs in, all right?"

She nodded mutely.

"Good. Now let's go."

…

Kaito shut his eyes, bracing himself for the bullet. He had felt it once before, but this time was different. It was a whole new situation altogether.

He waited, the whoosh of the bullet echoing in his ears, speeding towards him at lightning speed, ready to take his life with it.

His muscles tensed up, ready to take the shot.

"Blam!!"

Jerking his eyes open at once, he looked around in shock. Apparently Gin's shot had missed him in the confusion, and his attacker whirled around to face the ruins of the warehouse, where the noise had come from.

The debris stayed still. Nothing had happened. "It was probably a spare bomb or something, and it had a delayed explosion," he thought. It seemed that Gin thought the same as well, and pointed the gun at him again.

A twitch of movement caught his eye. He slid his gaze up to the pile of cement chunks, and could have sworn that he saw one of them pieces move.

"KA-BLAM!!!"

The pieces burst open, the mass of cement and metal falling away and a layer of moonlight white feathers unfurled from within, revealing a teenage boy cradling a girl of his age in his lithe arms. The wings propelled them up into the air, the huge heavy hunks of warehouse crashing back down onto the floor below. Shod feathers floated down from the wings of the angel, perfect petals from the white lily.

He drifted down, landing on the asphalt ground lightly on tiptoe, his wings falling into place behind him. He strode over to the yellow car and gently placed the dazed girl inside, shut the door quietly, and turned to the both of them. In the car, all those who were awake and alert had taken the chance to gape in awe.

"Getting a little hasty now, aren't we?"

Gin nearly dropped the pistol in surprise, but held his hand steady and glared into Shinichi's eyes. The detective smirked with confidence, and mentally raised Gin up. He laughed at the look upon the man's face, which was one of utter horror and fright.

Kaito could not help but laugh as well. "Hey Kudo, his eyes are just like a goldfish's: too big for his face!" He laughed some more, his stomach soon aching and he had to bend over to suppress the mild pain.

Shinichi chuckled along with him, waggling Gin around like some kind of twisted ragdoll. When they were done with their play, Shinichi threw Gin to one side. The once intimidating man scampered away quickly, escaping to a helicopter parked someway up in the sky and retreating with his band of agents. He cried out something to them, maybe it was a word of rematch, or surrender, but the wind whipped away his words, and they never reached the ears of the boys. Shinichi laughed again, and turned to Kaito, who met his intent look with something filled with guilt.

"You dropped Ran."

"I…er…" Kaito meekly tried to find an excuse for his action.

"It's okay. I saw her fall by herself. It's not your fault."

Kaito heaved a sigh when Shinichi forgave his act. He patted Shinichi on the shoulder, and said warmly, "Okay. Party's over, so now let's go home and get a good rest, shall we?" Holding the door to the car open, Kaito gestured to his friend, inviting him to go in.

Shinichi took a step, and froze. His expression changed in a matter of a split second from a relieved one to one of growing terror. His ears were ringing with the dreaded sound of smashed porcelain.

Kaito tilted his head at his sudden change, and poked him in the shoulder. "Hey Kudo, what's wrong? Not feeling well?"

Shinichi's hand reached up to his chest and fingered a weird-looking sharp point of metal sticking out of it. A crimson red flower blossomed around the edges of the hold it cut out in his cotton shirt. Kaito blinked. It had not been there before.

Shinichi hung his fingers in front of his face, examining the blood that clung to it. His eyes widened in realisation, and he slowly turned his head around to confirm his assumption.

Serin's cloudy grey eyes were brimming with tears of anger, as her slender white hands gripped the long metal pole that protruded out the other side of Shinichi's chest. She let her hands fall away, revealing the other end to be embedded in her own; the very pole that Shinichi had thrust into her just a few moments ago. Her grin was almost maniacal, as if she thrown all her remaining sanity to the winds, and crazily focused on her target: Kudo Shinichi.

"Shi--…"

Shinichi looked down at the whimper, and poked the pole. Another soft whine escaped from the Destiny, and he quickly sent down a question.

"Are you alright?"

"No."

He stood rooted to the spot, then went on.

"What did the pole hit?"

"I've got not much time. The stupid pole smashed my entire body already! I'm afraid you've only got a couple of minutes left. If you're lucky you just change back, if you're not then you…well…"

"I die. I get it. How many times have I cheated death already?"

"Your luck will run out someday, you know." Des-chan still had the wit to kid around.

Serin thrust the pole closer into Shinichi's chest, grinning in gleeful madness as she watched the blood spurt out from it. Shinichi retreated and yanked the pole out forcefully, staggered backwards and landed on all fours on the cold hard ground. Serin advanced on him, the doll of insanity, the crazed look painted upon her face. Her hazy grey eyes were tainted with hatred and Raising the pole up high with the sharp end pointing towards Shinichi's heart once more, she cackled evilly, and drawled out her final words to the detective at death's door.

"Say goodbye, Kudo!"

She plunged the pole down with all her might.

The sharp stab of pain shot through his body, leaving a numbing tear in its wake. Broken shards of cream-colored ceramic stung his wound together with the metal and blood and tears. Shinichi had only a few seconds to take a look at his friends' faces…at the faces contorted into horror and shock.

A crystal clear tear dropped down from the corner of his eye as it focused in on Ran, his mouth turning into a wry smile. He felt his body slowly collapse under him, unable to carry its own weight now, and felt his head smack the stone floor once. It was a sharp crack that resonated in his ears, the tingling noise echoing in his ears until his senses broke down as well. His mind was left conscious, but it was not for long.

"I'm sorry, Ran," he thought, as he let slip the thin thread of consciousness binding him down to earth.

* * *

I still think he is too precious to kill. Ah well.

Exams are just around the corner! Waaah, no time for stories now, it's study study study all the way! TT_TT I'm dreadfully sorry, everyone....

...But I still put up the finale of Light and Shadows soon!


	12. Chapter 12: Overture of Four Suits

"Kudo!!!"

His hands were doused so many times in blood, they were starting to wrinkle under his gloves. Kaito pressed the hastily ripped-off wad of sleeve against the gaping wound in his fallen comrade's chest, frantically trying to staunch the blood that was seeping away, taking his friend's life with it. The squishy red cloth made splurging sounds against the limp flesh, sucking up the blood that ran out.

Soon, the crimson red river stopped. Kaito nervously pressed two fingers against Shinichi's throat, searching for a pulse.

"Come on, Kudo, don't leave now! There's still tons of work to do!"

His fingers nudged against a limp blood vessel.

"Kudo!"

His turned on Serin, who had by then put down the pole, and was howling madly in laughter and triumph. His eyes flashed angrily, filled with hate mixed with sorrow.

"Whatever has he done do to you?!"

"Nothing," replied Serin, her hypnotic gaze locking onto his, "it's just that he denied me of food once, that's all."

"That is not even enough to issue a death warrant!"

"He has the Destiny as well. Now that I've gotten rid of both, I think the other magical beings will not disturb anyone now. And besides, it is nosy detectives like him I detest."

"Aren't you a detective yourself?" Kaito was feeling a little confused now. "You are the one who shot me that day on the rooftop."

"That? That was a decoy, to try and get near Kudo. Unfortunately for me, he was not in touch with the police force then. I decided to try another method, and enrolled myself in his school instead. Little did I know that his classmate was actually taking care of the younger him. I am actually what you could call a vampire. Yes, I suck blood," she emphasized, noting the grossed-out face that Kaito made. "You can't kill me with crosses and the like, you know. In fact, you can't kill me at all."

"Then…you turn into a bat as well?"

Serin huffed. "Nah. That's crap."

Kaito glanced back at the car. Heiji was consoling Ai and Ran this time, but above that everyone else in the car was silent.

"You only got into this because of Kudo."

"Correct, child. Now, since my work is done, I shall be taking my leave." Serin turned her back on Kaito, and spread her great satiny wings out wide. They caught the wind, raising her up in the air.

Kaito coolly raised his revolver and shot once.

The metal-edged card sliced through thin air, little shafts of nothing left within its wake. It whizzed towards Serin's shadow, streaking through the cold night sky.

…

Serin thought she heard a faint bang below her, so she turned around to see. "Maybe the idiot shot himself," she thought.

She felt something slit through her throat.

She grabbed it, cutting her fingers on its sharp edges, and found herself holding a poker card.

"Ace of Spades, huh. Clever."

…

Blood spurted out from under Serin's pretty head. It tickled her neck, warming it, then the cold thing that once sat upon her severed neck fell off. The decapitated body plummeted down after it, falling back down to the ground with a sickening crunch. The head bounced once, and rolled over to stop on front of the magician's feet. The long blond hair was strewn across the floor, like a pool of dull sunlight. Kaito kicked it away, trying not to look at the vacant face that now occupied its front.

"Everyone will die someday, Serin. You just need to know when."

…

Hakuba had been sitting on a rock while it all flashed past his eyes and ears.

Serin, his colleague, killing Kudo. Kuroba killing Serin in return. Next thing he knew, he'd probably wind up killing Kuroba. Either that or someone else did. In anyways, this was a game of murder.

So Kudo had wings. No…no, it was a big deal. But not so much now that he's dead.

Wait, is he?

Hakuba crept closer to the body, trying not to get noticed by anyone, and quietly slipped under the car. He could hear something faint, yet rhythmic, like the whispery breaths of someone asleep. From there, he reached out a scrawny finger and poked Shinichi's rib.

A loud rasping cough escaped the detective's throat, causing the teenage illusionist to jump in fright and whirl around. Hakuba exclaimed in relief, "He's still alive! Someone get the hospital, quick!"

…

At first, Kaito was stunned. Then, he nodded curtly and whipped out a cellphone. Hakuba staunched the wound, trying not to let him lose any more blood. Once Kaito was done, he turned to him.

"Don't tell me you saw everything."

"I won't, seeing as you have already guessed."

Kaito sighed in defeat. "So now you know everything."

"Not everything yet, Kuroba."

"Like what now?"

Hakuba grinned slyly. "I still don't know if I'm supposed to catch you now or let you go."

Before Kaito could rebuff him with another witty comment, a loud roar boomed behind them, followed by a wrenching of metal against metal. Aoko quickly hopped out of the car and into her enraged father's arms before he could do anything else.

"Dad! I'm here!" she cried, hugging him tightly. Inspector Nakamori blinked, hugged her back, then turned to the others.

"I'm assuming they did something to you?" he snarled, eyeing the passengers warily.

"No, nothing, Dad. In fact, they are the ones who came to save me and Ran," she replied quickly, before things got out of hand. He did a double take, glaring at them all. Yet,, it was not long until his stare softened.

"I…thank you for taking care of my daughter," he muttered to them, barely audible to hear. Without further ado, he led his daughter away by the hand, an expression of relief evident on his face. Aoko squeezed in a quick goodbye wave to the others before leaving with him.

The wail of an ambulance shot into their ears, and they turned to each other in delight.

"Still wanna arrest me, Hakuba?"

"Fine. Peace Treaty, but for this night only. Once Kudo's out of the woods, I will get you, be it the both of us in hot soup or not."

Kaito laughed. "That counts in school. You don't arrest me during lessons, or the teacher would kill you. Understand?"

"You're not one to make the decisions."

Kaito punched the detective in the shoulder, then went to wave the ambulance down.

…

The first rays of morning light filtered into his retinas through his heavy eyelids. He felt comfortable, as if he was placed into a cradle lined with an assortment of blankets and pillows. He snuggled in, then yelped out in pain as the excruciating pain in his chest took hold once more.

"Eeyah!"

Almost at once, the person sitting right beside him woke up.

"Shinichi?"

Shinichi's hand flew to his chest, as the numbing pain gradually subsided. He felt another hand, winter's icy cold hand, caressing his wound, and the pain left him quickly. He sat there for a few moments, then turned to his friend.

"You're alive," she breathed, before falling into his embrace, tears gushing out from either sides of her beautiful blue eyes. She burrowed deeper, taking care not to disturb the bandages, and hugged him tighter, with passion. Passion strong enough to break the boundaries of reality. Passion, which was her love.

She basked some more in his hug, then pulled her head out gently.

"I'd always knew you'd wake up."

Shinichi smiled. "If I wouldn't, would I still be talking to you here?"

Ran playfully poked his cheek. "You, you're so reckless and daring, actually going in there to beat up those bad guys and that long-haired baddie and that vampire woman, and got yourself nearly killed there! Luckily Kaito-kun and Hakuba-kun found you were still alive after that pole stab, and they took you here. You should count yourself very fortunate that you aren't dead!" she scolded him, and he giggled gently.

"Fine, Grandma! Next time, I'll defy your words and take on more powerful people with machine guns and nuclear bombs! And then I'll return with my battered self and let you lecture me again!"

"And you're equally untruthful, bluffing me that you were Conan, when all those while you were actually hiding right beside me! No wonder you always knew how I was feeling when you called. And those wings! Wherever did you get them?! You didn't have any since the last time I saw you!"

Shinichi propped a pillow up against him, and told Ran the story. The story of Edogawa Conan, and how Shinichi met the Destiny, and all the troubles that followed him after.

Ran mock-punched him, but her fist hit the wall behind him instead. Deep cracks crawled up the wall, fanning out in a 'spider-web' pattern.

"Oops," Ran whispered.

…

Conan took one step outside, breathing in the fresh air. It was a new day, a new beginning for him. The doctor had told him days earlier, before he was discharged, that the operation took out all the remaining shards of the Destiny so it would not harm his organs, and they also told him that something would be permanent, for they had absolutely no idea how to remove it. Yet, it was not as if he hated those pair of wings, and he had taken a liking to flying anyway.

His started musing about the past things, stuff that belonged in the timeline, but still etched into his memory deeply.

The events the Destiny lead him through seemed so far away now. Ran accepted his story, and she forgave him, but only after he had treated her to a proper date, with the help of Ai's antidote. Although he had transformed back halfway, as usual, she took no notice of it, and continued treating him as if he was still his seventeen-year-old self. Serin was dead, as what Kaito had told him, and it seemed that he and the thief made a pact: He didn't tell on him, he didn't tell on himself either. At least that way, Both Kid's and Conan's true identities were safe, but he was not so sure if it mattered anymore. Kaito and Heiji had taken the liberty of telling the story to Hakuba while he was unconscious, and they had smoothed out the misunderstanding the British detective harbored against him. He was grateful to them for that. He had met up with Twin and Miranda sometime earlier, and found them both to be quite enjoying themselves. They had to move away soon, though, for the graveyard Twin was living in was to be demolished. They had already found another place to live in, but it was a really faraway place, deep in one of the remote forests of the country. He did not mind that one bit, for they said they would write tons of letters back. About his shrinking problem, fine. So the people of the world have already known it. At least now the Organisation knows too, and that would either bring deep trouble or excellent triumph. He was not sure, as of yet. But it was very apparent that they would not try and knock on his door for some time, so he and Haibara were probably safe for the time being. Speaking of Haibara, he had peeped under his eyelids while in the ward after the 'accident' to find her bawling beside him. Maybe her once strong facade had worn off, and he was seeing her true, emotional self. He did not really know.

Going to school as his younger self was the only thing that felt strange, though. It was as if everything had grown bigger, leaving him behind in the past. The elementary school kids were completely oblivious to his plight; he did not mind, for they were better off not knowing. The others treated him as before, but he was now living in his old house, no longer staying with Ran. He liked it when she hugged him tightly before. Never mind then, since there were events that were almost...destined to happen.

It all seemed so surreal now. A figment of a child's wild imagination, stamped into his memories. Yet, he bore scars of it that could prove that his experiences were true.

He gingerly prodded the sewn-up hole where the metal pole stabbed him, and winced at a mild pain poked his chest back.

But it did not matter. Time would erase it, and probably a lot of other memories too. But these, these few months, were a memory he would never forget for all eternity.

_**Fine**_

…


	13. Burnt Omake, Anyone?

And there you have it! The finale to Light and Shadows! Hope you have enjoyed the story, everyone!

P.S. There will be no Omake Theater for this story, for it burned down. While the staff are busy trying to rebuild the theatre, Conan and me, Tari, shall attempt to explain what happened.

(Burnt curtains raise)

Conan: Today we shall have another episode of…oh wait. The Theatre burnt down.

Tarino: Why?? It was alright the last time! What happened?

Conan: Well…It's a long story.

Tarino: Pray do tell. And no flashbacks! I'm sick of those wavy things and stuff!

Conan: Too late. (Wavy things)

(Conan and Kaito are backstage, in the Theatre. Conan is fiddling with a bunch of test tubes and Kaito is banging his head on the computer. Tarino walks in.)

Tarino: Hey, be sure to clean up once you're done.

Both: Yeah.

(Tarino leaves.)

Conan: So, what are you doing here, anyway?

Kaito: Who, me?

Conan: Yeah.

Kaito: Mmm…Trying to check my mail.

Conan: That again?

Kaito: What about you? Should you be messing around with those?

Conan: Fine.

(They both do their own stuff for a little while, then Kaito gets up and pulls out the computer plug. Unfortunately, the plug to the Bunsen burner was pulled out as well, since they were on the same power port.)

Conan: (middle of experiment) Hey!

Kaito: What, Tantei-kun?

Conan: Turn the burner back on!

Kaito: You do it. I'm leaving.

Conan: You pulled it out!

Kaito: And you're going to use it.

Conan: You're nearest.

Kaito: I'm leaving.

Conan: (irritated) Ooh, just turn it back on already!

Kaito: Nah. (Walks away)

(Conan goes over, without turning the burner off, and puts the plug back in. Kaito walks off, his sleeve brushing the burner just as Conan pushes the plug into the socket)

Kaito: (as sleeves catch fire) Eeeyah!!!!

(Kaito rolls around on the ground, trying to put out the flames. Fire spreads to the papers Conan leaves around on the floor, and starts burning up the desk with the chemicals on it. The chemicals catch fire and explode, miraculously throwing Conan and Kaito out of the theatre.)

Conan: Oooof!

Kaito: Darn! My clothes are ruined! Thanks a lot, Tantei-kun!

Conan: Gerrof me, you oaf!

(Kaito gets off, and they both sit back and watch the theatre being engulfed in flames)

Kaito: So…What do we do now?

Conan: I don't know. I think we had better slip away from here, very quietly…

(Both start to tiptoe away when a bunch of shouts startles them)

(Heiji and Ai find the burning Theatre)

Heiji and Ai: Kudo and Kuroba!!!!!

Kaito: Let's make a run for it!

(They chase the guys, who end up jumping off the cliff and into the ocean below to hide.)

Heiji: Where have they gone to?!

Ai: Beats me. Let's go and try to put out the fire first. Then we find them.

Heiji: Fine. But when we do find them….ooh!

(They leave.)

Conan: (puts up his head from underwater) Poof! Hey Kuroba! That was a close shave, wasn't it?

Kaito:…

Conan: Kuroba?

(Conan hoists up a soaking wet Kaito, with water pouring out from his mouth and his eyes glassy. A fish tail sticks out of Kaito's fist, waggling around.)

Conan: Honestly, Kuroba. You were that afraid of fish?

(End of flashback, wavy things again)

Tarino: So that's what happened.

Conan: Yeah.

(Tarino picks up a nearby fire extinguisher)

Tarino: You did know that this was here, right?

Conan: Er….

(Tarino raises the heavy thing over her head and chases the frightened Conan offstage.)

(Ai comes in to take over)

Ai: And that would be the end of this bunch of stories. Now…where did Kuroba go…? (Walks offstage)

ess.


End file.
